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Red Bull-Renault X1: The Fastest Thing You Never Knew Existed
I'd like to state beforehand that a good deal of this is based entirely on fiction and whatever pops into my mind, so don't expect this to be full of facts; it's intended to be fun and considering I love creative writing I decided to have at it. Enjoy!
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Hello all, 11-time F1 champion Michael Bernhardt here and I'm here dressed to impress; here to show you Red Bull's vision of the next evolutionary step in Formula 1 design, tactics, and ingenuity: the X1, which we refer to in-house as the X2010. This vehicle, above all else, is the fastest non-production open-wheel race car on the face of the planet. I've always wondered to myself what a futuristic F1 racer would look like, how fast it would be, and how much horsepower it would have...luckily for me the guys over at the Research and Development department posed the same questions to themselves and with the help of our own Adrian Newey the X1 is what we (they) came up with. A race car that weighs only 545 kilograms; at 1,201 pounds, that's lighter than anything I've ever had the pleasure of driving. A race car that produces 1,557 horsepower at 15,000 RPMs - it's exciting just talking about it, imagine how excited I was when I actually took it for a spin! But wait...the X1 isn't all about power, no, it's really all about top end aerodynamic stability and as such, the X1 has a certain 'take no creative shortcuts' attitude when it comes to this.
For one, the X1 employs the use of wheel covers which deters the airflow from actively cutting through the space between each of the wheel spokes and then continuing onward. The use of these wheel covers are primarily intended to "tame" the wind, manipulate it for pure advantage if you will. There's also the "fan car" technology and the simplest way to explain this without gauging a real technical conversation is this: it sticks like you wouldn't or rather couldn't imagine. In fact let me give you a visual, you're using the crevice tool on your favorite vacuum cleaner; you feel the suction it creates when you press it down on the rug - picture something similar to that but with four wheels and insane speeds.
As you can probably imagine the news came as bit of a shock to me, after the F1 season ended I was fully expecting some moderate recooperation time. To my surprise I got a phone call from the guys that said "We'd like your input on this prototype we've put together" and if you know me well enough then you'd know I love cars in every sense and being apart of this testing was something I jumped at, no more resting for me as I had work to do! My first reaction to seeing the car for the first time was simply "Wow". I had to undertake mandatory training for approximately 7 weeks as my body wasn't yet prepared for the X1 and once I took it for a spin I understood why that training was necessary.
Scene: Japan. Fuji International Speedway, a circuit very close to my heart as it's the place where I grasped my first podium victory. Unfortunately, Fuji is no longer a part of the prominent F1 schedule due to financial reasons but that doesn't mean we can't have a bit of private fun there. The routine was this: set the fastest time you possibly can on your first try, acclimate your body to the car and you'll realize instantly that you'll become faster and faster with each passing lap -- and this held true for the most part. With such demanding circumstances whilst driving around in this torpedo I wasn't allowed to wear our conventional driving suits, no, instead I had to wear a specially-designed suit with internal dampening; a countermeasure against the insane amount of G-force produced by the X1 under acceleration, braking, and hard cornering...the latter of which is perhaps the most eye-watering force you'll ever feel on the human body. There was an instance where my entire body went numb while on the main straight and for a second I almost panicked, so naturally I radioed in and was told "It's completely normal. Don't worry, you'll get all of the feeling back soon enough."
My first lap was a 1:01.170, and I found this to to be on the brink of insanity. I was able to go around Fuji Speedway in less time than it would have taken me in the RB6, RB5, hell, even the RB7 -- and that's with all the mistakes I've made. Knowing that...I decided to go back to the garage and have a look at my telemetry data; knowing where I could improve, where I pushed too hard, and where I didn't push hard enough. The adrenaline coarsed through my body and my heart was beating like a race horse, I knew what I was up against and I knew what had to be done: I had to push myself to the limits, I was determined to go around Fuji in less than one minute, I was determined to make the most of this opportunity. With both goals in mind I suited up once again and as I sank into the spaciously-awkward cockpit of the X1 it all became apparent to me at that moment, as a Formula One driver I owed it to myself to see if I had what it took to get the most out of this unbelievably fast racing machine. I wanted to know if the currently enforced standards of Formula One were holding back our talents to an extent, I wanted to know that if given the chance could I helm the X1 without succumbing to a blackout. My vision was jittery and my hands were trembling a bit, not because I was scared but because of the immense forces placed on your body when driving the X1, but I would not falter for I wanted to prove that I am an 11-time champion for a reason. And that reason being I am the best. The fastest.
I break out of the pit area for one final session and I felt, no, I knew I could go around in less than one minute. The ultimate test.
Did I succeed? Well you tell me....
Fastest lap: 53.189
If this is what the future of F1 looks like, I can't see myself retiring anytime soon. Thanks for reading and taking the journey with me, parading around in the fastest open-wheel race car ever built - the Red Bull X1.
Hope to see you again.
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