Formula 1 Facts | 11 Unknown and Interesting F1 Facts

Last year's Formula 1 season was something out of this world. Not even the best screenwriters in the world could have written such an engrossing script, the hero of which was decided in the final seconds of the final race of the season. While the Lewis Hamilton-Max Verstappen nail-biting fight-to-the-finish was a spectacle in itself, these 11 facts about Formula 1 will surprise you as well.

Over 80,000 components

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A single F1 car is made up of over 80,000 components. A large proportion of these components have an important role to play in the aerodynamics of the car and can be the difference between winning and coming in second.

Weight loss

This is a bizarre one. Driving a Formula One car gets taxing on the body due to the intense heat that's generated in the cockpit. As a result, F1 drivers tend to lose up to 4kgs of weight during a single race.

An F1 team is large

Team Mercedes or team Red Bull isn't just made up of the team director, the drivers, and the pit crew. In all, over 600 crew members can be part of an F1 team's operations during a single race.

No refuelling

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Due to the fast nature of pitstops, refuelling is dangerous. As a result, since 2010, F1 cars do not refuel during pitstops. All the fuel they need during the race is filled in their tanks beforehand.

Hybrid cars

All F1 cars are hybrid in nature. And due to the incredibly low amount of fuel that they tend to consume, they also have some of the most efficient car engines in the world.

Women in F1

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The first woman to participate in Formula One was Maria Teresa de Felippis, who raced in 1958. After her, four women raced in the competition, but only one among them - Lella Lombardi - managed to score any points when she finished sixth at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix.

Highest top speed

The ridiculous top speed of 372.6kmph was achieved by Juan Pablo Montoya while on a flying lap at the 2005 Italian Grand Prix. He was driving in his Mercedes.

F1 fatalities

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Formula One has always been a dangerous sport. 52 drivers have died to date, with thirty-two of those deaths have occurred at official World Championship Grand Prix races. Seven of them occurred during tests, while thirteen occurred outside of official F1 events.

Fastest pit stop

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The fastest pitstop in F1 history lasted only 1.82 seconds. It was achieved by The Red Bull team, who swapped out all four wheels of Max Verstappen's car at the Interlagos circuit in 2019.

Loss of body water

Formula One drivers lose around three litres of body water during one entire race. That's the reason why they have a pipe going through their helmets for sipping water every now and then.

F1 cars can drive upside down

The advanced aerodynamics of F1 cars give them tremendous amounts of downforce and this means, if an F1 car were to be driven upside down at a fast enough speed, it would certainly be able to do it.