re: Are F1 drivers athletes?

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I agree that you need physical stamina and a certain level of strength but those don't necessarily make you an athlete.

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Dude I died on this hill and there's no arguing with F1 fans who seem to have an inferiority complex about every other sport.

I think most reasonable people know racing requires a certain level of fitness and athleticism. But let's be honest, the sport is mostly about engineering. Max Verstappen isn't winning 90% of the races because he can do more pushups than the other drivers or because his heartrate goes back to normal faster. He's winning because he has the best car and the best team of engineers in the garage. And yes, technical skill and reflexes play a big part (read: ordinary people can't do this), but it's still more about the car.

Do you think if Michael Jordan swapped shoes with another player or Mike Trout used a different bat the results would be noticeably different? If you made Max Verstappen and Valteri Bottas switch teams the standings would look completely different. Hell, Verstappen could have avoided exercise completely last year and he still probably would have won the championship in that car.

quote:

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I agree that you need physical stamina and a certain level of strength but those don't necessarily make you an athlete

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