Welcome to History's Not Boring by Kidopoly.com. I'm Mira. And I'm Flyn. Before we start, we have a very special shout out today. This one's for Flynn in Australia. Hi Flynn. Flynn asked for the history of car racing and a Formula One episode. He also said he loves listening to History's Not Boring at bedtime. So this one's for you, Flynn! That's awesome! Thanks for listening, Flynn. Get ready for a fast one. Okay Flynn picture this. You're driving down the highway and suddenly your car needs new tyres. How long would it take a mechanic to change all four?
SPEAKER_01I don't know. Maybe an hour? Or two?
SPEAKER_00In Formula One racing, the McLaren team holds the record for changing all four tires in exactly 1.80 seconds.
SPEAKER_01What? 1.8 seconds? You can't even tie one shoe in that time.
SPEAKER_00Exactly! Today, we're diving into the high-speed history of Formula One racing. From 1906, when the very first Grand Prix was held on bumpy dirt roads, to today's high-tech cars hitting over 230 miles per hour.
SPEAKER_01That's crazy fast! Are we going to talk about the legendary drivers too?
SPEAKER_00You bet! We've got wild races, fierce rivalries, mind-blowing engineering, and danger! Buckle your seat belts because it's lights out and away we go! Let's start with the basics. What does Formula One even mean?
SPEAKER_01Is it a secret math equation?
SPEAKER_00Haha, no. The formula is just a strict set of rules that all the cars have to follow perfectly. Things like how much the car weighs or how big the engine can be. And the one means it is the absolute top tier, the highest level of racing.
SPEAKER_01So it's the ultimate race?
SPEAKER_00When did all this start? The very first Grand Prix, which literally translates to big prize in French, happened way back on June 26, 1906, in Le Mans, France. 1906? Did they even have fast cars back then? I thought they just had horses and buggies. They definitely had fast cars. The Automobile Club of France built a 64-mile-long triangular track, stretching between three towns on public roads. And it was mostly dirt.
SPEAKER_01Dirt roads? That sounds incredibly bumpy.
SPEAKER_00Very bumpy. The cars were massive, weighing almost £2,200. And get this, they sealed the dirt with tar to keep the dust down. But the weather was so hot the tar melted and stuck to their tyres. Oh no, gross! That sounds like a disaster. Who ended up winning? A Hungarian driver named Ferenc Sis, driving for the Renault team. He drove for over 12 hours across two days, covering 770 miles. Wow, how fast was he actually going? On the long straight parts of the track, he hit almost 100 miles per hour. On dirt? With melting tar? That sounds super dangerous. Did they have seat belts? Nope, no seatbelts, no hard helmets, just leather driving goggles and a whole lot of bravery. In fact, a riding mechanic sat right next to the driver inside the car. Wait, a mechanic rode in the car during the actual race? Why? Because early cars broke down constantly. The mechanic would literally lean out and fix the engine, pump oil, or check the tyres while bumping along at top speed. They had no pit crews like today. Fast forward past World War II. The modern Formula One World Championship officially started in 1950. Where exactly was the first race held? At Silverstone in England, on May 13, 1950. It was built on an old World War II bomber airfield. Even King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were there to watch. Whoa! Racing for the royal family! Who won that one? An Italian driver named Giuseppe Farina in an Alfa Romeo car. But the 1950s really belonged to a legendary driver named Juan Manuel Fangio. Fangio? That's a cool name. How good was he? He was absolutely amazing! He won five world championships! And remember, this was still before modern safety. Drivers were racing wheel to wheel at 170 miles per hour in just leather caps and t-shirts. That's terrifying! What happened next? Did the cars eventually get safer? Slowly, yes. But in the 1970s, the cars got much, much faster, and aerodynamics became a huge deal. Engineers added massive wings to push the cars down onto the track. Like an aeroplane, but upside down. Exactly. It glued them to the road so they could turn faster. But it was still very dangerous. Have you ever heard of Nicky Lauder?
SPEAKER_01I think so. Didn't he have a really bad crash?
SPEAKER_00Yes. In 1976, at the famous Nürbergering track in Germany, which has 154 turns, his car crashed and burst into flames. He was badly trapped and got severe burns. That's awful! Did he ever race again? This is the unbelievable part. Nicki Lauder was so determined and so brave, he was back sitting in a race car just six weeks later. Six weeks? With severe burns?
SPEAKER_01That's superhuman.
SPEAKER_00He was incredible. He even won more championships after that. His fierce rivalry with the British driver James Hunt is one of the most famous in all of sports history.
SPEAKER_01Did they get even faster in the 1980s and 90s?
SPEAKER_00Oh yeah. And this era gave us Ayrton Senna from Brazil, who many people consider the greatest driver ever. He won three world championships. What made him so special compared to the others? He was the absolute master of racing in the rain. In 1993 at Donington Park in England, it was pouring rain. Senna passed four of the best drivers in the world in just the very first lap. Four cars in one single lap? On a slippery track? Yep. While everyone else was sliding around, he magically danced the car around the track. But sadly, Senna died in a crash in 1994, which finally forced Formula One to make massive safety changes to the cars and the tracks. It's sad that it took a tragedy to change things. But who dominated after him? The legendary Michael Schumacher. Driving the famous bright red Ferrari, he won an incredible seven world championships.
SPEAKER_01Seven? That's got to be a record.
SPEAKER_00It was, until Lewis Hamilton tied it years later. Schumacher also completely changed how drivers trained. He proved that F1 drivers had to be elite athletes. Wait, you just sit down and stare. Why do you need to be an elite athlete? Because of the G force. When a modern F1 car turns at 150 miles per hour, the invisible force of gravity pulls on them. The driver's head and helmet suddenly feel like they weigh five times their normal weight.
SPEAKER_01Whoa! So their neck muscles have to be super thick and strong.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. If you or I tried to drive an F1 car, our heads would literally flop to the side. We wouldn't even be able to hold our heads up through a corner. Okay, I definitely need to do some neck exercises. How fast are today's cars? Insanely fast. In 2016, driver Valtory Bottas hit an incredible 231.4 miles per hour on the straightaway in Mexico.
SPEAKER_01231 miles per hour? I can't even imagine going that fast. My brain would melt.
SPEAKER_00The engineering making it possible is mind-blowing. Did you know a modern F1 steering wheel costs around $50,000? $50,000? For a steering wheel? You could buy a whole normal car for that. Yes, because it's actually a highly advanced computer. It has over 20 buttons and dials, plus a digital screen. Drivers change brake settings and talk to their team while steering at 200 miles per hour.
SPEAKER_01That sounds like playing the most intense video game ever created, but in real life.
SPEAKER_00It is! And all this F1 technology actually helps make normal cars safer and better. Things like disc brakes, active suspension, and even hybrid engines were tested and perfected in racing. So F1 racing helps my family's car drive better.
SPEAKER_01That's really cool.
SPEAKER_00Yep! But back to F1 safety. The biggest recent change is called the Halo. It's a thick titanium bar mounted right over the driver's head.
SPEAKER_01Does it look like a glowing angel's halo?
SPEAKER_00Haha, no, it actually looks a bit like the Y-shaped strap on a flip-flop sandal, but it is unbelievably strong. How strong are we talking? The halo is strong enough to hold 12,000 kilograms. That's the exact weight of two full-grown African elephants stacked right on top of the car.
SPEAKER_01An elephant standing on a car. That definitely makes me feel better about the drivers being protected if they flip over.
SPEAKER_00Me too. It has already saved several drivers' lives. And here's one more crazy fact. During a two-hour race, the drivers get so hot inside their fireproof suits that they can sweat out five to seven pounds of body weight. Ew, they lose seven pounds just in sweat. They must be so dehydrated and thirsty. They actually have a special button on that expensive steering wheel to squirt water directly into their mouths through a tube built into their helmet. Alright, Finn, it's quiz time! Let's see what you remember.
SPEAKER_01Okay, I'm ready.
SPEAKER_00Hit me. First question. What year did the very first Grand Prix happen in France? Next one. At what track did the modern F1 World Championship begin in 1950? Question 3. What legendary driver won five championships in the 1950s wearing just a leather cap? Here's number four. In 2023, McLaren set a record for changing all four tiles in how many seconds. Last question. Let's see how you did. The first answer is, it happened in 1906. For question two, the modern F1 started at Silverstone in England. Number three, the answer is, it was Juan Manuel Fangio. Question 4. The McLaren pit stop took exactly 1.80 seconds. And the final answer is it's called the Halo and it can hold two elephants. Yes, I got most of those right, but I still can't believe they can change tyres in 1.8 seconds. I know. I'm pretty sure it takes me longer just to tie my sneakers. History is so wild when you really look at it. It really is. Hey listeners, if you love learning about Formula One racing, please leave us a five-star review.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, give us five stars. One for each tyre and one for the steering wheel.
SPEAKER_00Just scroll down and tap the stars on your app. It really helps. Oh, and don't forget to check out our site kidopoly.com. We've got tons of fun learning games and awesome activities there to keep exploring.
SPEAKER_01And if you want a shout out on the show like Flynn did today, or just want to say hi, send us an email at hello at kidopoly.com.
SPEAKER_00Thanks so much for listening and learning with us. See you next time on History's Not Boring. Bye, everyone!