Can an F1 Car Drive Upside Down? How Much Will It Cost?

Formula 1 is the definition of a sport that pushes boundaries. Be it the drivers who are constantly testing the very limits of the car that they are provided with, or the thousands of engineers who put on their scientific hat, and come up with some really amazing inventions that change the game forever.

F1 teams have done really crazy things in the past. In fact, Red Bull already fought gravity with a mesmerizing zero-gravity pitstop. That brings us to one important question though – can F1 cars really drive upside down?

Gravity-defying cars

Cars driving upside down have been a part of popular fiction for many years, with franchises like Men In Black teasing it to the open world. While fast cars have technically been able to drive upside down inside a loop, it was always for a fraction of a second, thanks to the centripetal forces involved. However, with the way modern F1 cars are designed, we might not necessarily need to rely on the centripetal forces to stay upside down.

With the high amount of downforce these cars produce, it is definitely theoretically possible to drive consistently for a few seconds upside down. However, theoretically, it cannot be done with internal combustion engines, or with the current way the cars are designed right now. A lot of modifications and safety concessions have to be made, but it is theoretically possible.

At least that’s what the team led by Scott Mansel, known popularly by his YouTube nickname, Driver 61. They are many years into the research of “project inversion” and discovered that not only is the dream possible, but it can even become a reality soon. “While it is true (that F1 cars can go upside down), it comes with its fair share of problems.” 

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However, as you can imagine, this can quickly become an extremely costly affair. Not only do you have to modify the engine, the car, and the safety measures, but you also have to build a venue that can make this theoretical exercise happen.

How much will it cost to run an F1 car upside down?

Assuming you have the infrastructure already built, and the car suitably modified – the costs are fairly simple. The time of the drivers, the safety crew on standby, the fuel, and the cost of renting out the facility and the car. However, since it’s not as simple, we will have to calculate the costs of everything else as well – like the different engines we’ll have to use, the construction costs, and not mention, the cost of the R&D that goes on behind the scenes.

Driver 61 did a detailed breakdown of these costs on his YouTube channel and predicted that this exercise would cost as much as $17,000,000 for the construction alone. Factoring in another few million for the car, the R&D, the parts, and the time of the drivers and safety crew, this might very well even cross the $30 million mark.

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While this is an expensive project for sure, this makes one wonder, what else is possible in the world of F1?