Formula One
Speed. Style. Class. Action. Drama. Where will you find all these things in an exciting package? The answer that comes to everyone’s lips is Formula One. The one answer to all the excitement a person can derive. The sight of superfast cars being skilfully driven across dangerous tracks, for about an hour and a half. Where racers show the world what it takes to make a champion. Where millions of fans “ooh” and “aah” simultaneously, in a single breath. At these moments, millions of heartbeats combine into one. Millions of hands join in prayer. Millions of viewers hold their breaths and count the seconds on the clock. They bite their nails breathlessly for the race to end, and for the results to be declared. It is dangerous. It is exciting. It provides the largest number of thrills anyone can ever expect. The answer is simple – Formula one car racing. It is a true test for real champions.
Formula one is the evolved version of the famous Grand Prix Motor Racing that was organised in Europe. It is considered to be the grand diva and the ultimate challenge for any car racer. It is one of the largest and costliest events in the world of races. The formula in this is that the participants must meet a set of rules that are pre decided by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). There are very high stakes involved. The winner is given a huge amount as prize money, and wins many contracts from various companies.
In order to qualify for a particular race, a racer must have a sponsor, who will provide him with the car, the engineering team, the mechanic team, and other necessary equipment. F1 racers must be able to drive skilfully at the rate of 360KMPH. They have to drive through various complicated circuits and tracks that may be in an enclosed area, or on a road. It requires great skill and presence of mind. A small mistake could cost racer his life. Since he will be racing at an unbelievable speed, he will need to have a great amount of skill to manage the various bends, sharp turns and so on. He will also need to understand the car well. Racers who have ignored the signs that their cars gave them while racing have lost their lives. The friction caused due to the traction is unbelievable, and generates a huge amount of heat. Racers have to plant strategic moments in order to drive into their tyre changing areas, to get new tyres fixed, and to get their engines cooled off before they go back zooming into the race. They also need to have a lot of skill to be able to manoeuvre between their opponents.
Formula One racing is mostly dependent on aeronautics, electronics, suspension and tyres. Not to mention great skill. Even to qualify for the prix matches, a racer has to be among the best in the world. Such skill can only come from natural talent, and loads of practise. F1 tracks are extremely carefully designed, and thus the contractors for the tracks are among the most highly paid in the world.
In India, we don’t have a track. Mr. Chandra Babu Naidu, the president of the TDP party of Andhra Pradesh had the vision of starting up a F1 track in the country. Unfortunately, this remained a pipe dream, as he lost the following elections. But if this project had been successful, India would have been one of the few lucky countries who could host such a grand event. The revenues in terms of advertising, sponsorships, and viewership’s would have been tremendous. It would have raised the GDP of the country by several percentage points. Let us hope that with the coming times, and with better auditing practices (I am thinking about the recent fiasco with the Commonwealth Games here), and with an increased interest in the world of racing, India will be able to host this spectacular event some day.
By: Anindita Chatterjee
Tags: F1, Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA, Formula 1, Formula One, Grand Prix Motor Racing, Racing, Sports
