Pro Drivers Answer 50 of the Most Googled Formula One Questions

[upbeat music] How Formula One teams

travel

They swim everywhere. They have a little boat,

and then they swim [laughs] no.

Hey, I'm Tatiana Calderon, I'm a Formula One test driver.

And I'm Alice Powell, a racing driver in the W series

and the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY.

And we're here with Wired

to answer 50 of the most Googled questions

about Formula One racing.

[upbeat music]

[engine revving]

[mouse clicking]

Are Formula One cars street legal

Well, it depends what kind of street.

I wish they were,

probably best for safety that they're not. [dinging]

I would probably have one on the road if they were.

Is Formula One racing dangerous?

Every sport is dangerous,

[dinging] but they're the quickest cars on earth.

How Formula One works

It works in a way where you get the best drivers

competing on excellent circuits,

racing some of the fastest cars in the world.

So I would say it works quite well.

How much is a Formula One car worth

A couple of millions, for sure. [dinging]

Who was the first female Formula One driver?

Was it Maria Theresa de Filippis? [dinging]

I can't, I'm not very good at pronouncing names.

So I'm gonna go with that.

What's Formula One

I think is the pinnacle of motor sport.

The highest level of technology, of cars, [dinging]

of drivers, engineers.

How to become a Formula One mechanic

Get as much experience in the lower formulas.

There's a lot of great colleges out there that can teach you

kind of the basics of mechanicing and engineering.

But getting hands on is the best way to do it.

I know lots of people

that first started off just washing the wheels.

And now they're mechanicing on Formula One cars.

How to buy a Formula One car?

You need a lot of money

a really good content [laughs] Win a lottery.

How Formula One cars work

They need an engine, obviously, a chassis. [dinging]

You need loads of other components.

It takes a lot of money and time and effort from the teams

to get the Formula One cars on track.

[laughs] Okay, Why Formula One drivers live in Monaco

Probably because they earn a lot of money

[dinging] and you can avoid a lot of taxes there.

Why Formula One is better than NASCAR

For me? Yeah, I prefer Formula One to NASCAR

because you're racing on, not just ovals,

but you're kind of out on the tracks.

You get street circuits, a variety of circuits,

it's close racing, which NASCAR is as well.

But I've been an F1 fan since I was a kid.

Okay. How to become a Formula One driver

Well, it's obviously not easy

'cause there's only 20 seats available in Formula One.

And you need to have started really early.

So yeah, you have to go through the ranks,

the lower formula, starting with karting probably,

then Formula Four, Formula Three, Formula Two,

and then reach Formula One.

And you need a lot of sponsors. [laughs]

Who is the best Formula One driver

Are we talking past or present here?

For me, I was a huge Michael Schumacher fan.

He was my hero growing up.

Which Formula One teams are based in the UK

[dinging] Red Bull, Haas, Renault.

[dinging] Racing Point, Williams,

[dinging] Mercedes, McLaren obviously.

Which Formula One driver has the most wins

[dinging] Must be Schumacher.

Who won Formula One World Championship 2019

[dinging] Lewis Hamilton won

the Formula One championship in 2019.

That would have been very embarrassing if I got that wrong.

[Alice and Tatiana laugh]

When is Formula One season

So Formula One usually starts in March.

[dinging] Obviously that's been slightly different this year

and it runs through all the way to about November.

What is Formula One engine

I would say it's like the most complex,

but the most technology and the most efficient engines

in the world.

Is Formula One faster than NASCAR

Absolutely. [dinging]

How Formula One teams travel

They swim everywhere. [buzzing]

[Tatiana laughs] They have a little boat and then they swim.

How Formula One points are awarded

The top 10, they score points.

And each team who has two drivers then scored as teams.

And there's a ranking and some money involved,

in the prizes, let's say.

So it's very important to have two drivers scoring points.

But yeah, we usually only the first 10 score points.

[dinging] And I think it's 25, the winner,

and one point for the tenth place.

How Formula One cars are made

With love and care [Tatiana and Alice laugh]

which obviously is good.

Definitely gonna be love and care,

but with lots of people working lots of hours in factories.

It costs a lot of money as well. [dinging]

Yeah, there's a lot of hard work

that goes into making a Formula One car.

Who won Formula One World Championship 2018

Don't wanna be giving a boring answer,

but Lewis Hamilton again, [dinging]

won the Formula One World Championship in 2018.

Which countries have Formula One

There's a lot of grand prix to go through.

That's a lot of countries to name.

Tatiana you're gonna have to help me out

with this one. [Tatiana laughs]

You've got the British Grand Prix, [dinging]

you have obviously Austria this weekend, [dinging]

Belgium, French. [dinging]

Singapore, Monaco, Japan, China [dinging]

there was meant to be Vietnam this year, [dinging]

Mexico, you've got US, [dinging]

Brazil, Italian, Hungarian Grand Prix, [dinging]

Australian, [dinging] how could I forget the Australian?

Abu Dhabi [dinging] Canada

Azerbaijan [dinging] Oh, Azerbaijan, yeah.

How could I forget Berklee,

produces some awesome racing. Russia [dinging]

That's probably quite a few I think.

How have Formula One cars changed

Safety-wise and in terms of speed of technology

of even like the way you drive the cars,

I think it has evolved a lot through the years.

And when you look back now, it's incredible,

to think they were driving. [laughs]

On our Health and Safety we go absolutely mad.

Yeah. So much has changed. [dinging]

How many people are involved and working on the cars,

it's a totally different Formula One nowadays I think.

Does Formula One race in the rain

Certainly does. [dinging]

They do have obviously different tires.

You've got your slicks and you've got your full wets

and the intermediates just when it's kind of starting to dry

and it's not as wet, so yeah,

it does race in the rain for sure, and it's tricky.

[laughs] Do Formula One drivers pee during the race

Well, I know, I don't know any driver that has...

Oh you do! You were gonna say someone [laughing]

You're not supposed to.

I don't think you have time to think

about having to go to the bathroom. Have you?

I've never had that thought going through my mind.

They can if they really want to wee [dinging]

but I'm sure like you said

they don't have time to think about it.

Yeah, you have to use the same seat the whole year.

I think it's not a good idea. [laughing]

The mechanics would properly absolutely hate you.

Do Formula One cars have ABS

Formula One cars do not have ABS [dinging]

Do Formula One cars have power steering

Yes. [dinging]

Do Formula One cars have pedals

As far as I'm aware, [dinging] they have pedals.

Otherwise they're very very clever to just,

maybe in their mind, they just think

Accelerator, go. Now brake.

That would be crazy, but yes, they do have pedals.

Do Formula One cars have traction control

They used to have in the past,

[dinging] but now it's not allowed.

Do Formula One teams make money

If they did make money, they would

put it back into the sport [dinging] or into the team.

So yeah, I would probably say they make very little

and just want to put it back in.

Do Formula One cars have a clutch

They do have a clutch, [dinging]

which you only used to start.

When did Formula One racing start

In the fifties. [buzzing] I'm sure it was.

Oh no, wait [dinging] It was before that, wasn't it?

How did Formula One get its name

It would make sense to me that is the maximum

like Formula One. [buzzing]

And then you had Formula Two or Formula 3000 sometimes.

Why did Formula One change to v6

Probably the sound. [buzzing]

Everyone loves the sound of a v6 engine though, don't they?

Oh.

Where did Formula One originate

It was in the UK, I think.

I would go for the UK for sure.

Yeah, I would just give a guess [dinging]

Are we right? It was in the UK.

How many laps in Formula One

There's no sets, it's done by distance. [dinging]

So how many laps? It varies really, track to track.

Usually a grand prix on average, I would say,

is in the region of about 60 laps.

Would say an average 60 to 65 laps.

What is DRS in Formula One racing

So DRS is Drag Reduction Systems. [dinging]

Was introduced a couple of years ago.

In a race you have to be between one second

from the car in front of you,

and qualifying is free and you have DRS sounds.

So it's mostly on the straights.

You operate it with with a button

and it's very efficient to make overtaking.

What is the top speed of a Formula One car

Probably about 210 miles an hour. [buzzing]

Can Formula One drivers wear glasses

I believe they do. [dinging]

I know some drivers, a couple of that race

or Alexander seems like he uses his glasses when he races.

So I suppose it's just preference really.

Can Formula One cars reverse

Formula One cars can reverse, [dinging]

they probably do not like to reverse.

Race cars like to go forward.

But yes, Formula One cars can reverse.

Can Formula One cars refuel

Not anymore [dinging] you're not allowed,

but in the past we've seen some big fires

and some big messes when refueling was available.

Can Formula One cars drift

Yeah, baby [dinging] Formula One cars can drift

[laughs] Can Formula One cars drive upside down

If you're upside down then this

is not a really good sign. You're in trouble.

And the team won't be very happy. [laughing]

I think they produce enough downforce [dinging]

so they probably could drive upside down.

Are Formula One drivers athletes

100% [dinging] Formula One drivers are athletes.

Are Formula One cars electric

They're hybrids [dinging]

and you have a sort of a part that it's electric,

but it's not like Formula E which is a fully electric car.

Are Formula One cars the fastest

I would say in a drag race it depends.

Indie cars are pretty fast, but I would say,

probably the power output of a Formula One car, [dinging]

they're pretty fast.

Are Formula One cars all-wheel drive

No [dinging]

That'd be quite interesting.

Four-wheel driving Formula One car.

Are Formula One cars manual

Formula One cars you have to change gear.

So the gears paddles are on the back of the steering wheel.

So yeah, they are manual. [dinging]

they do have to change gear.

[upbeat music] Those were the 50

most-Googled questions on Formula One racing.

Thank you ever so much for watching. [dinging]