Got a chance at driving a F1

A few weeks back I had the priviledge to spend a day at the AGS "F1 experience" in Le Luc, about 45 minutes from St. Tropez. About ten years ago I signed up with them to drive a 1990 AGS with stick shift. This time I "upgraded" to a paddle shift Alain Prost 02 from 1999 powered by a 3.5 l Cosworth D.

This place is very well organized: At 8am sharp you get your triple layer Nomex suit, helmet, gloves, ballaclava and shoes. I brought my own helmet as it has a video camera attached. Then you hit the classroom for an hour to learn all about the track, braking, cornering, accelration, flags and the cockpit and operations of a F3 Opel-Lotus. As usual in these settings, they always start out by asking whether anybody had any previous experience in single seaters. And as usual it turns out that I'm the only one who has done anything like Skip Barber or even driven a F1. Not sure why that is as I intend to do this again at some future point. Or any other chance I get at driving a monoposto.

Then it was time for a quick reconnaissance lap around the track in the bus where they showed us the various corners. They made it really easy for us: Cones marked the braking and shifting zones as well as the turn in, apex and turn out points of the corners. Short of painting a white line in the middle of the track, this was pretty much fool proof.

Then we got seated in the F3. Since I would have a F1 with paddle shifters (most people chose the stick F1), my F3 also was equipped with paddles to keep the training in line. A nice touch since these cars didn't have paddles originally. The first 5 laps were to get acquainted with everything and do some braking exercises. After 5 laps we came in and got feedback from the coaches who were stationed around the track. Then we were let loose on 10 more laps. No safety car, no speed limit, but also no passing (except for a marked section on the s/f straight). That was fun as we were all out there together. I managed to catch and pass a few cars.

For the prolonged lunch break (there is anti noise law, which prohibited the running of the cars from noon to 2pm, which btw was also affecting the Historic Monaco GP) they took us out to one of those tucked away restaurants you had to know to find it. A delicious 3 course meal made sure all our blood went straight from the head to the stomach...
After that some more theory in the class room. This time about the operations of a F1, how to keep the weight loaded on the front when cornering without aero, when to shift, accelerate etc etc. Bottom line was: Don't spin or your day is over.

After we went to the comfortable mobile home at the track where we each patiently awaited our turn: They only allow for one F1 on the track at any given time. A good rule. Meanwhile the race doctor arrived as well. The track has even a small emergency room although I had no intention in checking that out any further.

Finally it was my turn. The cockpit was even a tad roomier than in the F3 but once they put the styrofoam cockpit cover on, it does feel a bit claustrophobic. Oh well, time to put on the helmet, start the camera, turn on power, select neutral and wait for the mechanice to fire up the beast. Now concentrate on the hand signal of the chief mechanic: Second gear and ever so slowly approach the catching point of the clutch, then raise the revs higher and higher. As his hand signals the right revs have been reached, raise the clutch a bit more and then slowly limp away onto the track. No stall, yeah!

Down with the visor, right foot flat, a flick on the right paddle and kaboom 3rd gear. The Peugeot is very stable. Unlike the Arrows I drove in the States, which had grooved tires, these cars all have fat slicks, which stick like glue. The track is very short, 240 km/h is its top speed and they have dialed in lots of aero. So the F1 feels more like a go kart on a huge dose of steroids. Steering is very precise and the engine has so much torque that you don't have to be always in the perfect gear. At one point on the s/f line I'm hitting the rev limite in 5th, that means I was doing just over 200 km/h. So the following lap I shift to 6th (the highest gear) and I'm guessing I was probably at around 220 km/h before I hit the carbon brakes hard for the first turn.

All too soon it is over and time to roll back to the pits. Ignition off and let the light slope do the rest. At the debrief they told me, that my breaking was much better than in the F3 (I was hesitant to lock up the wheels, but they insisted to stamp hard on them to get the carbons to temperature). I collect my CD with pics from the professional photographers and head home with a big smile on my face. Determined to do it all over again with these guys. Would love to give that Arrows a try.
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I don't and I doubt it was anything significant, at least not in the corners. You're strapped into these things so tightly you hardly feel any of that and I didn't have an accelerometer with me (would make a nice add-on for a helmet cam, hmm).

Le Luc is short and the corners almost 90 degree turns. About the only place you could pull some Gs is the double apex (at the bottom of the aerial shot), but that would require some practice as the run towards it is very short and handicapped by the esses before.

However what you do feel is the insane acceleration. Particularly coming out of the last corner onto the s/f line: You keep your right foot planted on full throttle and you hammer in the gears with the right hand while this giant fist pushes you in the back further and further up the road. That you really feel and it is awesome.

 

It is. Particularly the more often you do it.

I remember how intimidated I was ten years ago: I just finished Skip Barber and here I was jumping into the biggest league there is. So I made it a point to drive any single seater I could get my hands on in the meantime and it helps: Seat time is the best way to get used to these things. So this time I was not nervous, just excited.

BTW: There were a bunch of Aussies as well. They flew all the way for this experience as well as other F1 stuff (Barcelona GP, Historic GP, Monaco GP). They were great guys and I'm hoping to see them again next year at the NY GP.

At some point yes. I had one external camera at the s/f line (mostly to take lap times) and the one on my helmet. It'll take me a while to transfer the videos, change formats, edit etc, but yes. So expect this thread to bump in a few weeks or so.

 

I'm pretty certain that all the engines in these F1 experiences have been detuned for longevity. I forgot (not even sure I ever knew or paid attention what it was) what the max revs were, but definitely not 19k or anything like that. So yes, these things didn't feel like motorcycles or gokarts (from a torque perspective).

And yes, you had to hit the brakes hard to get them to temperature, but by the time it was my turn, the car had already driven a couple dozen laps and was nicely warmed up.

Maybe it is because I have driven a bunch of race cars and Ferraris but the pedals never surprise me too much. Lots of folks compare the required pressure to moving a heavy case of beer with your foot and that might even be true, but it's not something I give much thought to. You feel them out before you go and then it becomes normal. It's only later when you sit in your rental car again that everything feels so darn flimsy.

 

And you should be.

Seriously, this is truly an unforgettable experience and the memories of that day are etched into my brain forever. One of those rare moments in your life you look back onto and smile. A day that truly mattered.

 

Trust me, I'm truly grateful and count my blessings.

I see you owned an 88 Lola F1. That's so unbelievably cool. Where did you drive/race it? Part of the BOSS series?

Was this your car? I took this shot in 2006 at Road America. It was right next to my buddy's McLaren. Serviced by the same race team out of Indy. I remember I wanted to talk to the owner to see whether we could arrange some deal for me to drive it but it was down with electrical problems.
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I totally get that.
If money wasn't tight, I'd buy a seventies F1 and join the Historic GP series. Wouldn't care one bit whether I'd come in dead last every race.

I'm normally holding back with posting fish eye shots as people get quickly tired of them (so far my editor has yet to print a single one of them ). But since you mentioned it, here one more. This is an AGS from 2000: The team built generic "modern" F1 cars for their F1 experience. However these cars (unlike their 1990 AGS and the Prost, Arrows and Jordan) have never been raced for real. They painted them in Renault, McLaren and Ferrari livery but got slapped on the wrist by Renault I believe. So the logos had to come down, while the original paint job remained.
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15 laps? You must have known the car pretty well after that. Did you record any laptimes by any chance?

I can only recommend it to everybody else. They normally schedule these days in the weeks leading up to the Monaco GP so you can kill two birds with one stone. Meanwhile the Misses can enjoy herself at the beach in St. Tropez or in an impressionist museum around Nice.

Did you drive "against" other F1?
Did you ever drive another F1? Swap cars with somebody?
How was maintenance?
Did the Lola require a computer?
What about spare parts?
<sigh>

 

And those questions only lead me down a slippery slope to financial ruin...