HINCHCLIFFE: Haas let me drive their F1 car – and it truly left me speechless

IndyCar winner and F1 TV analyst James Hinchcliffe finally got to try an F1 car – and says it gave him a whole new appreciation for the mental capacity required to be a top level Grand Prix driver.

IndyCar Race Winner and AnalystJames Hinchcliffe
SCARPERIA, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 26: James Hinchcliffe of Canada and Haas F1 prepares to drive in the

For several years now I have been (sort of) jokingly pitching a feature to my bosses at F1 TV. The thought was that although I was an experienced racer in many categories, having never raced in F1, there were some things that were harder for me to analyze.

“As an analyst this presents a problem,” I would say to them. “A quick fix to that would be to find a way for me to get a few laps in a car to understand the systems, procedures and capabilities.”

While my bosses liked the idea from the get go, the harder part was going to be finding a team willing to give me that chance. Laps in F1 cars are a scarce commodity.