How to Drive a Car Upside Down: The Physics of Formula One Racing

By: Hannah PellThe Starting LineAs I write this, twenty cars are sitting at the starting line of the Formula One (F1) 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone based in the UK. The drivers have just finished their formation lap, and the $10 million engines are idling at roughly 5000 rpm (for comparison, the average car idles between 600 to 1000 rpm). "And it's lights out and away we go!"The cars accelerate from 0 to 200 kph (125 mph) in about 4 seconds. Drivers downshift through their 8 forward...