THE REAL 1%.

It all started a couple of years ago, and it was purely by accident. It probably was in the middle of the night too, back when I used to stay up till 2 or 3am for whatever reason. I must've been sleepy, since it was late, but I was instantly awake when I glanced at the TV.

The first thing I noticed is how unbelievably quick everything is. I mean, it's ridiculous. It's like watching a fast-forward of a video game.

Yes, I'm talking about Formula One. And from that moment on I was hooked.

Like any new sport, you learn something new every day, and I'm far from an expert. Shoot, I learn something new pretty much every race. Of course I knew what F1 was - pretty much every other person does too - but its sheer technical intricacies were unknown to me.

First of all, allow me to try and explain just how intense it is:

• 0-300 Kph in ~ 8.5 sec.
• 200 - 0 Kph (braking) ~ 1.9 sec., while experiencing 5 times the force of gravity. (5G)
• Cornering - up to 6 freakin' Gs!

The average driver loses 2kg in the course of one race, (one Grand Prix) with the heart pounding away at about 190 beats a minute. They are quite possibly some of the fittest people on the planet, and are certainly the best drivers in the world. (Next to WRC drivers, but that's a story for another day)

Yes, Fernando Alonso can crack a frickin' nut with his neck! Put a mere mortal in one of these cars and their neck would start hurting in a few corners, if their neck can even support the forces exerted on their heads. You'd be bobble-heading in a quick minute. Every time you'd brake hard the air in your lungs would be forcibly exhaled due to the sheer forces, if you didn't pass out first.

And you'd have to think about who's up front, who's behind, who's faster, how to react to every situation...There's way too much technical detail here, but it can basically be summed up as such:

What if someone gave you this...

 








...told you to get in here..

 ...and while sitting like this the entire time,

 ...tell you to get in this 200-300KPH mess...









...and beat 21 other rabid maniacs for the win.
Oh, and don't crash, please. Thanks.

 








And the egos. The testosterone. The politics, the strategies. Oh, and so much more, all make for one hell of a show, and some really glum podiums sometimes. You'd think they'd always be happy to win, but not even close; everyone thinks of what could've been. Magnificent.











Wait, when's the next race, the Chinese Grand Prix? Crap, guess I'll have to get up real early on Sunday next week to watch it live. And love every minute of it.