I\u2019ll make the case that a regular F1 car is impossible to drive on the open road (for that you need to see our cars with F1 engines<\/a>). That\u2019s because it needs a couple of things to drive optimally:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These cars are designed with speed in mind. Everything from their engine to the tyres and brakes need<\/em> high speed to function properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Formula 1 tyres are specifically-designed to be used on slick, smooth race tracks at high speeds. They have no groves, which increases their grip surface area. But this only comes into effect at high speeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without enough speed, the tyres won\u2019t be hot enough. If they\u2019re not hot enough, they will lose their grip on the asphalt because of the way they\u2019re designed. It\u2019ll be like sliding on ice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The brakes also need high-enough temperatures to work properly. Without working temperatures, the brakes will become almost unusable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n F1 cars have a very low<\/em> ground clearance, which means any bump, crack in the road, or sudden elevation in the road will damage the car. The tyres will also get damaged from sub-optimal road conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Race tracks are perfectly evened out, with no cracks, bumps, and steady elevation all across. They keep it that way precisely because F1 cars have a low ground clearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The slightest bump or debris on the track could spell catastrophe at those inhumane speeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the tyres have no groves, they\u2019ll get damaged very easily on bumpy and sub-optimal road conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An F1 car needs a lot of airflow (from high speeds) to cool the engine. Without this airflow, the engine could blow up because it overheats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The brakes could also overheat due to the lack of good airflow, which will make your braking experience even more miserable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n F1 drivers go through hundreds of hours of intensive training to learn how to drive a Formula 1 car. A regular person would have no hope driving one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A major problem is the handling. Formula 1 cars are handled in completely different ways compared to regular road cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The acceleration is faster, the top speed is higher, the brakes are more finnicky, overtaking and curve-taking are difficult as well. The steering wheel is also shaped differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can\u2019t drive an F1 car through normal traffic optimally. The car is extremely low in height, which means you\u2019ll have issues seeing the traffic in front from behind any car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, these cars are not meant to stop regularly like you would on a normal road for red lights or busy traffic. These traffic conditions can literally blow up the engine and damage other internal components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second issue is that you\u2019re not allowed<\/em> to drive them on the street. They\u2019re effectively illegal on any street in the world. Keep reading to see why!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where do I even start? Driving on the road comes with many legal requirements. And Formula 1 cars lack many of the elements that are legally required for a car to have. Since they\u2019re not needed on the race track, why add them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other elements have been altered to optimize track performance, which puts them outside of street rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what I mean:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just one of these elements would make F1 cars illegal to drive on open roads, and there are ten of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These aren\u2019t just optional elements either. Having no indicators, headlights, tail lights or good tyres will make it impossible to drive safe around other cars and in traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You will get into trouble whether you want to or not. That\u2019s because other drivers either won\u2019t see you (at night) or they won\u2019t know what you\u2019re about to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The one exception to this rule is when there is a race organized in a city. The authorities will close the road for public use and reopen them once the race is over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Technically, you can. But you'll have to make massive changes, and after you\u2019re done with it, it\u2019ll hardly be a Formula 1 car anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, this has been done once before. By the world\u2019s worst F1 team of all time \u2013 Lola. Long story short, Lola was founded by a well-known racing chassis designer, Eric Broadley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He managed to get MasterCard as the team\u2019s sponsor and went on to participate in the Grand Prix of Australia. However, the Lola T97\/30, which was the team\u2019s car, didn\u2019t even qualify for the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so, the team disbanded after filing for bankruptcy and being bought out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, one good thing that came out of it was the F1R<\/a>, a prototype F1 car created by the Lola engineers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They built an F1 car from the ground up and made it street legal. This meant adding all the required elements I mentioned above, like the tail lights, horn, indicators, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They also increased the ride height to 1.9 inches, with the possibility to increase it to 2.9 inches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s a handy chart<\/a> that shows you how they made the road car and what components they changed to make it road-legal:<\/p>\n\n\n\n1. Enough speed<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Smooth Road<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Sufficient airflow<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Experience<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. No traffic<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Why Are F1 Cars Not Street Legal?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Can You Make an F1 Car Street Legal?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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