Neo Maikeru said:
I do not watch Formula 1 so I do not know much about it. I thought it was from Japan for some reason, maybe it is because I heard that it was extremely popular there.
It's like soccer. It's extrememly popular everywhere except here. The fact that most of the races take place early morning/middle of the night U.S. time, and that there aren't any American drivers, probably doesn't help it's popularity here much.
And Bobak, it (F1) is a sport. It requires practice, both physical and mental endurance, and it requires the drivers to maintain peak physical condition. Please read (if you feel like it...I guess it won't kill me if you decide not to) from the official Formula 1 website:
the other site said:
"Understanding the Sport
Driver fitness
Formula One drivers are some of the most highly conditioned athletes on earth, their bodies specifically adapted to the very exacting requirements of top-flight single-seater motor racing.
All drivers who enter Formula One need to undergo a period of conditioning to the physical demands of the sport: no other race series on earth requires so much of its drivers in terms of stamina and endurance. The vast loadings that Formula One cars are capable of creating, anything up to a sustained 3.5 g of cornering force, for example, means drivers have to be enormously strong to be able to last for full race distances. The extreme heat found in a Formula One cockpit, especially at the hotter rounds of the championship, also puts vast strain on the body: drivers can sweat off anything up to 3kg of their body weight during the course of a race.
Physical endurance is created through intensive cardio-vascular training: usually running or swimming, although some drivers prefer cycling or even roller-blading! But the unusual loadings experienced by neck and chest muscles cannot be easily replicated by conventional gym equipment, so many drivers use specially designed 'rigs' that enable them to specifically develop the muscles they will need to withstand cornering forces. Strong neck muscles are especially important, as they must support the weight of both the driver's head and his helmet under these intense loadings. Powerful arm muscles are also required to enable the car to be controlled during longer races.
In terms of nutrition, most Formula One drivers control their diets in much the same way as track and field athletes, carefully regulating the amount of carbohydrate and protein that they absorb. During the race weekends proper most drivers will be seen eating pasta or other carbohydrate-rich foods to provide energy and to give the all-important stamina for the race itself. It is also vitally important that drivers take in large amounts of water before the race, even if they do not feel thirsty. Failure to do so could bring on dehydration through sweating – not surprising given that the physical endurance required to drive a Formula One race is not dissimilar to that required to run a marathon."
The idea that these are people whose job it is to sit down for 2 hours, and that their job requires little to no physical exertion, is a popular misconception. Unlike certain other race series (which shall go nameless), you won't see any fat, beer guzzling, looking-like-they-exist-on-tv-dinner types in F1 (actually, I don't want to rag on any form of racing, because I respect and enjoy them all to varying degrees; definitely some more than others, with F1 and WRC at the top). The top driver, Schumacher, is reputed to be the highest paid athlete on the planet.
Yes, 'athlete'. It's like that debate about what constitutes a documentary from a while back. This meets the criteria. If you think an ordinary person without training could withstand 3 Gs on their neck in one direction, then 3 Gs in the opposite direction, then 3 again in the first direction...all in a space of 2 1/2 seconds, you are dreaming.
I don't see how anyone could not consider rally drivers as athletes, either, but I don't feel like typing a whole spiel about that. Tired now.
Man, this is a Merc-sized post. In my defense, most of it was copy-pasted from the other site. If you managed to read this far, there is an above average chance you were already a fan of motorsport, so I really wasted my time here. I can admit that.
