Hasta La Ideas

I’m actually on my way to the chiropractor

Formula One racing is a testing ground where manufacturers can push automotive engineering to extreme limits in the hopes of achieving breakthroughs. Things like radial tires, traction control, anti-lock brakes and even steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters then trickle down to cars in the consumer sector. But one thing that won’t migrate from F1 cars to your average Ford Focus: The seating.

In the video below, F1 driver Nico Rosberg (of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team) shows us how insane the seating position is. Looking at photos or footage of any F1 race, the only parts of the driver you can see are the top half of their helmet and their fingers turning the tiny steering wheel, and I always assumed that beneath the cowl, they were in a seated position; I was wrong. You’ll also be interested to hear him describe foam as being too heavy, and the limitations of sitting—lying, rather—on carbon fiber:

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