20 cool facts about Formula 1 cars

New Delhi: From the time the world embraced motor cars, there has been motor racing, though the first races were very different from today's Formula One Grand Prix held at stunning venues like the Buddh International Circuit. As India readies itself for its second encounter with Formula One, we focus on some cool facts about the F1 cars.* Approximate 80,000 components come together to make an F1 car. The cars have to be assembled with cent per cent accuracy. If it were assembled 99.9% correctly, it would go on the track with 80 components wrongly placed. * F1 car engines complete their life in about two hours of racing. Just compare this with normal engines which go on serving us faithfully for decent 20 years. * When an F1 driver puts brakes on his car he experiences huge retardation or deceleration. It could be compared to a regular car driving through a brick wall at the speed of 300kmph. * An F1 engine usually revs up to 18000 rpm. This means that the piston travels up and down 300 times a second. Road car engines rev up to 6000 rpm at max. * The brake discs in an F1 car have to withstand the operating temperature of approximately 1000 degrees Centigrade. They are made of carbon fibre which is much harder than steel and has a higher melting point. * The cars have more than a kilometer of cable linked to about 100 sensors and actuators which monitor and control the car. * An F1 car can accelerate from 0 to 160 kph and decelerate back to 0 in just four seconds. * An F1 car weighs around 550 kg. * Gear cogs or ratios are replaced after each race for they have to resist high degrees of stress. * Gear levers are located on the back of the wheel. The clutch levers are located below the gear paddles. * Most racing cars have their tyres filled with nitrogen. The reason being nitrogen has a more consistent pressure compared to normal air. * Road car tyres can last 60 000 to 100 000 km. On the other hand, racing tyres are designed to last only 90 to 120 km. * The tyres lose weight during the race. In a GP each tyre loses about 0.5kg in weight due to wear. * The cars can be refueled at 12 liters per second. The rig used would take just 4 seconds to fill the tank of an average road car. * Pit stop crews take only 3 seconds to refuel and change tyres. * The front suspension of a Formula 1 car is so strong that it can withstand two tonnes of pressure. That means the carbon fibre rods that connect the wheels to the main body could easily cope with an adult bull sitting on them. * Even after a race has been completed, a car's tyres will be about 120C – hot enough to cook an egg on. * Formula 1 brake discs are made from a special, indestructible form of carbon fibre. A set costs several thousand pounds and takes a month to make. When a driver hits the brake pedal, the discs heat up to around 1,200C – typically the temperature of molten lava. * Under extreme braking, some drivers have said that this force is so great that their tear ducts squirt water into their visors. * Drivers are subjected to forces of up to 5g – meaning that in a very high-speed corner, their body will experience pressure five times greater than their body weight.