A passenger run in a Formula 1 car is one of the most terrifying things you can do

"Clemsie McKenzie" (thestirringcolumn)
03/16/2016 at 15:00 • Filed to: None

I had the opportunity to do a couple of laps strapped in a 3-seater F1 car, as part of my day at the track !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . And I loved it, although the only thing I could think of was “I really hope I’m not gonna crap myself”, for the 2 long minutes it lasted.

The car that would carry me and another passenger to a likely fiery death was a heavily modified !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , with the Lambo V12 replaced by a more compact and reliable 550bhp-Cosworth V8 and two holes in the sidepods. And I do mean holes, as there wasn’t much more than that to accommodate human passengers: no seats, no tiny screen to help with the massive rush of air, and barely enough room for me to fit in. Just two holes and a set of harnesses. But what a way to die!

If you read my earlier post about that day, you know that I found the track slightly terrifying. And that was in a puny Formula Renault, driven by a noob.

Driver was Nicolas Schatz, then five-, now six-times French Hillclimb Champion. Here’s what his day job looks like:

Dude has no fear.

As I climbed into the beast, I gave my dad, who had done this a few years ago, a mixture of a “please help me” and a “witness me, shiny and chrome” kind of look. As I was waiting for my turn, he had told me:

“You’ll see, I don’t know if you’ll enjoy it. It’s not something you enjoy. It’s an experience. I’m not sure I want to do that ever again.”

Suffice to say confidence was over 9 000.

It got worse when they started the engine. The deep rumble and the intimidating vibrations came from few inches from my right leg, and that’s not exactly reassuring.

As the driver slowly pulled away, I gradually tensed up, the realization of what I was about to go through slowly dawning on me. And suddenly, this horrible thought, the kind of things only my weird-ass brain would come up with in such situations: “Oh no! What happens if I shit myself?” Try to understand, I was in white overalls, and the vibrations were traveling directly from the engine to my bum to shake up my insides.

As we left the pitlane, I saw the man that had our lives in his hands waving at someone. I remember thinking “DUDE! Don’t let go of the wheel! We’re gonna DIE!”

And then, he went through the gears and entered Turn 1.

This is when I realized that there was nothing in this hole to keep my hands from flailing all over the place. No wheel, obviously, but also no strap or handle. Nothing. Really, strapped as I was, only my core was held in place: my legs and arms were free to move around, and my head would prove to be much heavier than I thought it could be.

At that point, he was only driving gently, to bring everything to up to temp. He had done a couple of two-laps sessions before, but they had to shut the car down between the runs and so everything had to be brought up to its operating window again.

But my scared little brain wasn’t bothered with such technicalities. Because you see, at that point, still warming everything up, we were going much faster than I had ever managed in the Formula Renault. And I was already impressed by the G-forces pulled in that little thing.

About halfway through the lap, he decided that everything was good, and he went for it. And it quickly became physically difficult. Every part of my body wanted to go away, do things on their own. It became impossible to breath in the corners.

After the terrifying forces involved in taking the last corner almost flatout, we got propelled down the straight. Buffeting made it really hard to see anything. But the good thing was that because we were going so fast (around 150-160mph), this didn’t last for long. And soon, we got way past my braking point in the FR2.0. I got livid, thinking that we had to brake from these immense speeds to the apex in a very short distance.

I was not “disappointed”. But again, because braking is so effective, it doesn’t last for long. Turns 1 and 2, on the other hand, seemed to last for ever. Organ-rearranging forces that I had to sustain for more than 20 seconds without a break, my poor head getting flung left and right as we went from one corner to the other, barely lifting off the throttle...

My face was in pain. Have you ever watched olympic weight-lifting? I had the same red, tensed look on my face, teeth clenched in what was more the expression of true physical brutality than fear. That part, the first sector of the track, was the worst.

The driver was going for it, too. As I was just behind the front left tire, I could see it work under load, small bits of rubber flying in the middle of the corners, the sidewalls wobbling in the last corner. Once, in a small be difficult braking zone, the rear moved around a bit, and I watched as he quickly caught it back in line. He was quite literally giving us a run for our money.

Soon we came back to the last corner, and he eased off the throttle to gently come back to the pits. Two laps went over quickly, less than 3 minutes. But I was shaken and stirred, to the core.

This was, without a doubt, the most brutal thing I ever did. Entering the world of Speed and G-forces, I had to leave behind what I thought physics could inflict upon a human being. It really is something you cannot imagine if you’ve never done it.

After the first corners though, I wasn’t scared too much (apart from the crapping myself thing — thanks brain!). And I’m a man who hates rollercoasters. But I think this is different: even though I didn’t have control over anything (including my limbs), I still knew and understood what the driver did, because I had driven the track before. Also, the forces are almost never vertical, like they are going up and down a rollercoaster. So yeah, in a way, it’s much worse than a rollercoaster, but it’s also much more bearable.

And I’m glad I did it. Because now, I enjoy watching F1 that much more. Think about it: the car we were in was uncompetitive when it was new, 20 years ago. And that was before downsizing the engine and adding two more people two carry along. It would get annihilated by Carmen Jorda in a GP2 car. And two laps were pretty much unbearable for me. How tough are these guys? How mindblowing are the forces they experience? I really can’t even think about that without shaking my head in disbelief. I’m not sure I’d do it again, but it’s really something I’ll never forget.

And I get to say I’ve been around a track in an F1 car. Which is sweet.

DISCUSSION (47)

Margin Of Error > Clemsie McKenzie
03/16/2016 at 15:06

That’s Bernie Ecclestone in the top pic ?

Clemsie McKenzie > Margin Of Error
03/16/2016 at 15:09

Haha looks like him right? He’s the chief mechanic, and was actually an F1 mechanic in the 90s.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Clemsie McKenzie
03/16/2016 at 15:10

It would get annihilated by Carmen Jorda in a GP2 car.

Oh come on, give it some credit. At least the Larrouse has scored points.

Clemsie McKenzie > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/16/2016 at 15:12

Ok maybe not Carmen Jorda then, that was a bit harsh. That said, even if it scored points back in the day, with added weight and a probably less powerful engine, you gotta agree we’re not going to give the Mercedes boys a run for their money.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Clemsie McKenzie
03/16/2016 at 15:13

Rumor is that Carmen’s over 10 seconds off the pace in Lotus’ sim ;)

Clemsie McKenzie > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/16/2016 at 15:15

At Spa in a GP3, she was 19 seconds a lap slower than the leaders. In her best lap.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Clemsie McKenzie
03/16/2016 at 15:27

In other words, she wouldn’t be able to qualify if they had a 107% rule. Her replacement ended up winning two of his four races and on the podium in the same car.

Clemsie McKenzie > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/16/2016 at 15:29

Yeah she’s impressive. That said, she’s good at PR apparently, which is why they hired her in the first place. So it’s not like she’s taking anyone’s place in F1, either.

Leon711 > Clemsie McKenzie
03/16/2016 at 15:29

Are you sure?

http://www.gp3series.com/Results/?racei…

Clemsie McKenzie > Leon711
03/16/2016 at 15:33

Woops, my bad! Apparently the comment I read was a bit exagerating. I wasn’t aware you could do that on the internet!

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Leon711
03/16/2016 at 15:40

2014 - I was going to call it an anomoly maybe caused by damage since she finished a head of some people in race 1, but it looks like she was very slow all weekend. This was right before she became Lettuce’s “development” driver, so maybe she stopped trying once she realized that she had a better gig coming and that’s why she was replaced for the last two events. That may be an extreme example, but looking at her GP3 times, she’s consistently multiple seconds off the pace.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Clemsie McKenzie
03/16/2016 at 15:40

Sweet! thanks for sharing

Clemsie McKenzie > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman
03/16/2016 at 15:42

My pleasure!

Malanga > Clemsie McKenzie
03/16/2016 at 15:50

Can I ask if it was worth the money? There’s something similar at COTA, but it costs somewhere in the region of a few thousand dollars, and I am not willing to pay that. Ive got my hands full and my wallet empty with karting.

Thanks for sharing!

PS: Carmen Jorda? Beating someone? I think that’s a bit optimistic, she’s never beat anyone, like, ever :) Word is she's like 12 seconds of the pace in the sim

Clemsie McKenzie > Malanga
03/16/2016 at 15:57

A few thousand dollars, no. A few hundreds, yes! Driving the FR2.0 was much more fun.

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > Clemsie McKenzie
03/16/2016 at 16:03

They were doing this in Birmingham, AL for only a day a number of years ago when I still lived there. I still regret not doing it. They had a few random surface roads closed off then the ‘circuit’ finished with a flat out run on a shut down portion of an interstate, I believe.

The next couple days they took it to Barber and I think did a couple days of ride alongs there. I should’ve done one of them.

Clemsie McKenzie > Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz)
03/16/2016 at 16:06

You’ll find other opportunites, I’m sure! Though an F1 in an interstate, that looks pretty fun!

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > Clemsie McKenzie
03/16/2016 at 16:08

I think that’s how they had it set up. The whole surface street/interstate day seemed odd, but I understand that in Birmingham, that’s what they had to work with. Probably why it was only one day and for a few hours.

Malanga > Clemsie McKenzie
03/16/2016 at 16:11

Ok thanks! I think the deal included driving an old GP2 car or something, so that's probably why it was so costly

Clemsie McKenzie > Malanga
03/16/2016 at 16:14

Ah yeah that makes more sense!

Gabor Vajda (@Gabor_V) > Clemsie McKenzie
03/16/2016 at 16:52

You’ll be awaited... in VALHALLA!!!

Dude, I’m so happy for you. Thanks for writing this up!

Clemsie McKenzie > Gabor Vajda (@Gabor_V)
03/16/2016 at 16:58

Thanks a lot man!

Well, if the Valhalla is made of racetracks and fast cars, I guess there are worse thing to do after you die! As long as Immortan Joe doesn’t do the driving, I mean.

Chasaboo > Clemsie McKenzie
03/16/2016 at 17:35

That’s crazy. Love the sound of that engine. Congrats on not soiling yourself.

Clemsie McKenzie > Chasaboo
03/16/2016 at 17:38

Thanks! That takes a surprising amount of brain power!

Leon711 > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/16/2016 at 18:23

Don’t get me wrong, she’s not a competitive driver. Neither was Wolff.

There’s not many female drivers that consistently win, and those that do seem to not have the funding. There’s a 15 year old German who raced in the Ginetta Junior series who looked promising, Sophia Flörsch, she raced half a season last year and became the first rookie to achieve back to back wins in one race weekend but she ran out of cash. She’s running back over in Germany this season in ADAC formula 4.

Tapas > Clemsie McKenzie
03/16/2016 at 23:38

This. Is. Awesome!

Where can I do this?

And kudos for the write up. When people who dont know watch racing, they don’t understand whats happening in the car and they’re really dismissive about what it takes to drive one of these things. I wanna throw one of those doofuses one on pod while I’m in the other lol

derf > Clemsie McKenzie
03/16/2016 at 23:51

Nice writeup! Thanks for sharing the experience, that must have been a hell of a day.

AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC > Clemsie McKenzie
03/17/2016 at 02:09

Thanks for sharing this! I really enjoyed reading it.

Your recollection of the event reminds me of the Top Gear segment where they let Hammond drive the monstrous v10 Renault R25. One of my favorite Top Gear segments ever. Even the sound of the engine is enough to send chills down the spine.

Clemsie McKenzie > Tapas
03/17/2016 at 05:26

Well a company does a few of these track days each year here in France, but I’m sure there is something similar in other countries. Look it up, you never know!

Clemsie McKenzie > AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC
03/17/2016 at 05:28

There is a lot of that, yes! Although I didn’t have to drive the car, so it was much more simple. Maybe one day...

Clemsie McKenzie > derf
03/17/2016 at 05:29

Thanks! One of the best days of my life, that’s for sure.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Leon711
03/17/2016 at 07:28

While Wolff might not be top of the top, she’s good enough to set a competitive time in an official Grand Prix session. Obviously we’ll never know the full details of her run such as how light her fuel load was, if they loaded Massa up to make her look better, or if she really was that fast, but the difference wouldn’t make for more than a couple of seconds. The point is that whether she’s race caliber or not, she can drive an F1 car damn fast. The same cannot be said for Carmen Jorda who I think would be legitimately dangerous on track in this machinery. The rules agree. It seems like she can’t get within 107% of a session time on equal footing, let alone in a Renault when there are Mercs and Ferraris on the grid. Sofia Florsch seems pretty amazing though and I hope that she continues to impress. I really look forward to seeing her in F4 though, because it looks like that field will be more competitive this year and Red Bull are already looking at her. She’s wiped the floor so far though and if she keeps doing so, it would be nice to see her get a Toro Rosso seat in a few years.

Leon711 > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/17/2016 at 08:34

Wolff does have a lot more experience and is definitely a level about Jorda, despite her continually bad results in DTM. I agree Jorda would have a hard time meeting the 107%, just as Haryanto may in the manor this weekend, he wasn’t fast in practice and had a few offs.

If Flörsch can do well in F4 I don’t think it’ll be long until she is going into GP3 and upwards.

Paullubbock > Clemsie McKenzie
03/17/2016 at 09:27

What would have scared me is not the acceleration or severe braking and G forces. It would have been that bumpy ass road surrounded by rock walls boulders and steep drop offs.

claydog > Clemsie McKenzie
03/17/2016 at 09:50

Every time I hear an ex-jock talking head comment that automobile racing isn’t a true sport I think “go for a ride with a pro and say that again”.

Clemsie McKenzie > claydog
03/17/2016 at 09:51

Yeah honestly I wish they’d give free rides to these people!

Andy from Beaverton > Clemsie McKenzie
03/17/2016 at 12:00

My first ride in a race car, the first the I thought the driver was trying to kill me. On the second lap, I realized that if I die so does he.

For all of the people that think they have a good handling car that pulls about 1g in the corners, you don’t know handling. I had no idea that four massive slick tires could stick to the road so well.

Atomic Death Monkey > Clemsie McKenzie
03/17/2016 at 12:12

Definitely another thing to put on the bucket list.

Thank you for relating your story!

AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC > Clemsie McKenzie
03/17/2016 at 12:24

That would probably be an event to reshape anybody’s perception of speed. I imagine holding the steering wheel would make it feel like being strapped onto a rocket. My dream would be to cozy up to a Ferrari Corse Clienti owner who bought one of the decommissioned F1 cars.

Not sure if you have seen this? Just absolutely insane how quickly it picks up speed.

Firenze Storm > Clemsie McKenzie
03/17/2016 at 14:35

How the hell is that even possible.

Texaswaffles > Clemsie McKenzie
03/17/2016 at 21:53

I’d gladly say auto racing is not a real sport if it meant I got to ride in a race car!

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Firenze Storm
03/18/2016 at 07:17

I’m wondering the same thing. In order to qualify for an FIA Grade B licence (required for GP3), you need to complete five international events in the top five and I’m not seeing any record of that.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Leon711
03/18/2016 at 07:24

Actually in Wolff’s defense, her DTM record is marred by always having out-dated cars from the previous regulation set, always did fairly well in Formula Renault, and was mid-pack in her F3 races that she did before injuring herself. Not F1 champion material, but definitely a racing driver. Carmen Jorda’s not.

Catchy Display Name > Clemsie McKenzie
03/18/2016 at 08:31

I’ve read quite a few write ups about ride-alongs, but this was the first one that seemed honest to a fault, and really allowed me to imagine the experience. Great job.

Clemsie McKenzie > Catchy Display Name
03/18/2016 at 08:34

Wow thanks! Happy you enjoyed it.

Leon711 > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
03/18/2016 at 10:42

Quite right, others were able to do more with the older cars but then they went on further, she has a lot more talent than I do. Jorda is still better than me like you say not a contender.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Leon711
03/18/2016 at 11:14

I’m actually not too certain that Jorda can beat you. I mean, even Taki Inoue was usually within three seconds of his more talented teammates.