THOMB Drives The Real Alpine Formula 1 Car

I drove a real Alpine Formula 1 car. Yes, even writing this now it still seems surreal to me. As part of driving the Formula 1 car, I was also able to drive a Formula 4 car and have the pleasure of being driven around in a Formula two-seater. This is my story.

You’re probably wondering; how did this happen?

In 2021, I qualified for the F1 Esports Pro Draft as part of the fastest 30 drivers in the world to get a super license to drive in the official F1 Esports Series. Following the qualification, Alpine Esports was the only team wanting to interview me for a potential esports race seat and this is how the talks started. Alpine Esports, Race Clutch and me then started building around my passion for content creation and entertainment. In April 2021, I became an ambassador for the Alpine Esports team and since then we have done various incredible activations around esports. However, this one tops it all.

I went into the F1 driving experience without any prior racing experience. I was solely dependent on my sim racing experience. Luckily the event was built to include gaining Formula car experience during three Formula 4 sessions before heading into the Formula 1 car.

The Formula 4 cars were already super impressive to drive, especially as I wasn’t used to any type of racing car before. The clutch was tough to get a grip off, but once I got underway the car was a pleasure to navigate in the braking & acceleration zones, while it was a handful through the corners. The braking technique that I’m used to with sim racing was identical to the braking technique I had to use on the track, so I immediately felt comfortable on the brakes. This was a huge positive surprise to me. At that point, I was mainly struggling with getting confident in carrying as much speed as possible through the corners. However, the confidence got better and better through the 3 sessions in F4 I had available for the event.

I also had the pleasure of getting to experience a hotlap in the Formula two-seater on that same day. This hotlap was actually crazy, especially because the driver went all out over the kerbs, while I was staying away from the kerbs as much as possible to avoid unsettling the car.

In between the Formula 4 sessions, there were many debriefs analysing the data to see where I could improve the most. It was amazing to see that my experience in sim racing helped me mostly through the braking, as I was one of the only participants on par with professional race drivers in regard to applying brake pressure. Various tips I got were to brake later and turn in later for turn 1, and also to get onto the throttle with a more straight steering wheel. I had quite the scare in the very first session as I went tokyo drifting going onto the throttle while steering!

After the F4 sessions, it was time to fit in the Formula 1 car. I was quite nervous for this one as I am a pretty tall guy of about 186cm. Luckily I JUST about fitted, with the emphasis on “just”. There was no more than half a centimeter between the chassis and my shoulders, feet and knees. Even though the F1 car was tighter, it was surprisingly comfortable inside the car during the seat fit. The mechanics asked me to test the brake pressure and to apply at least 50 bar brake pressure, so I punched the brake pedals as hard as I could. Apparently I did very well as they all started laughing when it showed a full bar on the computer, haha!

To prepare for the F1 drive, I had to do mental and physical preparation with the engineers. This included the famous Batak reaction test, where I had to hit as many of the changing lights as possible. I managed to hit 82 lights in 60 seconds, while an average pro driver is expected to hit AT LEAST 120-140 lights. I guess I need some more practice!

Then on Saturday, it was time. Time for me to head into the real Alpine F1 car and hit the track at Paul Ricard. The nerves were starting to kick in, while I had minimal nerves for the Formula 4 drive. Formula 1 is just something different. You could hear the difference as they fired the engines up, it was truly impressive. After a thorough safety briefing, it was time to go down to the garage. As I was called up to put in the ear plugs before getting in the car, the nerves reached an all time high. I didn’t know what to expect, apart from something that was a lot quicker than the F4 I just drove earlier. I got in the car and got strapped in tightly, knowing I couldn’t move even if I wanted to, and then the engine fired up. The car was rolled outside of the garage into the pit lane by the mechanics and the engineer came onto the radio instructing me to put it into first gear and slowly release the clutch. The car started rolling and I was on my way in first gear through the pit lane, fully in control, driving the real Alpine F1 car.

You can watch the full experience through this replay of a live show I did driving the Formula 1 car.

I decided to take it easy for the first couple of corners to get a feel of the acceleration and braking. But then once I approached turn 5 and was assured that the car was doing exactly what I wanted it to do, I floored the throttle. WOAH, just WOAH. The wind pushed my head upwards as my eyes opened up as wide as possible. Braking down for the second to last turn, I braked hard as I let go off the throttle, locking up the front left tyre, forgetting to shift down a gear. Once I reached the main straight and approached first turn, I slammed the brakes hard at the 150 meter board. My head pushed itself forwards while my body stayed in the exact same spot, and my soul was still in the previous turn. Truly amazing. I started getting more confident as I approached into my hot lap, especially under braking as I braked later and later for each turn while keeping it comfortably on the track. Once I got more comfortable in the second lap, I just started smiling. I think the smile did not leave my face for the entire rest of the drive.

On my way back to the pits during the in lap, realisation struck: I just drove a real Alpine Formula 1 car, with no real racing experience and solely sim racing experience. I was proud. Not just that I was able to keep it on the track, but also proud of how comfortably I drove the F1 car and how I was genuinely having the time of my life. I can genuinely say those 7 minutes of driving the F1 car were the best 7 minutes of my life, and nobody will be able to take that away from me anymore.

From starting sim racing in my bedroom to driving a real Formula 1 car. I have done it. And also, I have shown that the difference between sim racing and real racing is not as considerable as people think it is. Racing in the simulator is genuinely a way to learn the basic skills and techniques of driving a race car.

I want to thank Alpine Esports for making my dream become a reality. Without them, this would never be possible. It is amazing to see how, together with Alpine Esports & Race Clutch, we’ve been able to bridge the gaps between sim racing and real racing. Alpine is the first and only F1 team ever to put a sim racer like me in a real Formula 1 car. I am forever grateful for this unbelievable experience.

I don’t know how I will ever be able to top this experience, but as they say in the racing world: #KeepPushing!