Racing has always been a big part of my life. I grew up watching NASCAR with my grandpa, and I’ve been an F1 fan for years. Along the way, I’ve heard it all. “They just drive in circles,” “It’s boring,” and “Drivers aren’t athletes.” But racing is so much more than people realize, and I want to shine a light on what makes racing so special — especially in the worlds of Formula 1 and IndyCar.
Let’s start with the classic “They-just-drive-in-circles” argument. Sure, if your only exposure to racing is NASCAR, where oval tracks dominate the schedule, I can see where you’re coming from. (Though, to be fair, NASCAR has branched out to street circuits — turning left and right is now officially on the menu.) NASCAR even races at our local raceway, Portland International Raceway (PIR). But in most motorsports, and especially in Formula 1, things are a lot more complicated.
Mastering the perfect racing line, knowing when to brake, and timing a daring overtake are just some of the many things that drivers need to juggle in their minds while driving at 200 mph.
And the margin for error? Almost nonexistent. Just a little contact with another driver can spell the end of an entire race. Not exactly ideal after enduring the brutal physical and mental strain of piloting a race car at the edge of control for hours, especially in something like the Indy 500, where drivers cover 500 grueling miles.
Yet despite enduring extreme G-forces, razor-sharp reflex tests and conditions that push the human body to its limits, some people still refuse to call race car drivers athletes. Let’s talk about that.
During a race, you never see the actual driver behind the car. This, paired with the fact that the drivers don’t exert energy in the same way that most athletes traditionally do, I think, drives the statement that drivers aren’t real athletes. However, looking behind the scenes, you can see that these drivers are working just as hard as any athlete in any other sport.
Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time Formula 1 champion, but he doesn’t just roll out of bed, hop in the car, and start winning races. Like every driver on the grid, he spends hours training to keep his body in peak condition, because piloting an F1 car isn’t just about speed, it’s about survival.
“I understand that it takes, they say, 10,000 hours to master a craft,” Hamilton said in an interview with Wired. “I started when I was eight. Every single weekend: practice, practice, practice.”
Over the course of a race, which is typically around 60 laps, drivers endure up to six Gs in corners and under braking. This puts a lot of stress on a driver's neck, which is why you'll often see drivers train their necks with special headgear and resistance bands that quite literally try to yank their heads away from their bodies.
Finally, throw in wheel-to-wheel battles, daring overtakes, and the constant fight for tenths of a second, and you have a sport that is anything but boring.
If F1 is the only motorsport you’re familiar with, then you may have heard the complaint that it’s boring because of complete dominance from different teams or drivers. In 2023, 21 out of the 22 races were won by a Red Bull car, with 19 being won by Max Verstappen. During the season, Max also won 10 races in a row until being interrupted by Ferrari Driver Carlos Sainz.
This kind of dominance from a single team or driver comes from F1’s constructor-focused regulations. What this means is that each team designs their own cars with differing aerodynamic features between them. Before 2021, there was no cost cap in place to stop teams from spending millions of dollars toward the development of their cars. During that era, the teams with the most money won most often.
But now, with the cost cap, teams can only spend so much money, which has brought competition closer. This next year of racing in F1 is looking like it could be one of the most competitive seasons in the sport's history.
If you believe driver skill is the only thing that should matter in deciding winners, look to “Spec” series like IndyCar or NASCAR. In these racing series, each team is allocated the same vehicle chassis and aerodynamics. The only thing that really differs between each car is the engine brand powering them. Both series bring out the best of raw driver talent, with lots of different winners every year and a very competitive championship, which can be a lot more exciting to watch as a fan.
If anything I mentioned sounds exciting to you, then go make some time to find a race online and watch it! Or (and some fans might kill me for this) you can find a docu-series like Netflix’s Drive to Survive, Senna, or even a movie like Rush, Ford vs Ferrari, Ferrari, to dip your toes into the world of racing.
Evan Guerra is a photographer for The Beacon. He can be reached at guerra28@up.edu.
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