Ferrari and their Formula 1 partner, BitDefender, collaborated with Neil deGrasse Tyson on the occasion of the 2024 British Grand Prix. Tyson, from the renowned show “StarTalk”, was at Silverstone to speak about F1 technology.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist and author. He also hosts StarTalk, a show that mixes science, pop culture and comedy. The celebrated scientist took a tour of the Silverstone Circuit where he talked about the G force that F1 drivers encounter while driving their challengers.

BitDefender, a global cybersecurity leader with over 20 years of experience and Scuderia Ferrari’s long-time partner, uploaded a video on their official X handle, captioned,

“Talking all things F1 Tech with @StarTalkRadio at #BritishGP, stay tuned! @ScuderiaFerrari #Bitdefender.”
In the video, Tyson stated,

“Hi, I’m at Silverstone, England. The site of an F1 race is behind us. In fact, we’re in the middle of the track, and the track goes for several miles around us. I was curious, how do the aerodynamics works? The engines, what forces operate, and I learned that on the right turns at those high speeds, they pull up to 5 Gs. 5Gs!”
“In fact, that’s higher Gs than astronauts pull when they launch from launchpads going into space. I don’t know what that does to your internal organs. All that and more, on StarTalk.”
G force is a commonly-used term in Formula 1 but it’s not just F1 drivers who experience this force. It can be felt in everyday life when an object speeds up, changes direction or slows down. However, the G force that drivers face is enormous and can reach up to five times their body weight.

For example, George Russell weighs 70 kilograms, but his 5 G experience at Turn 1 of the Suzuka Circuit would feel like almost 350 kilograms.

Ferrari on alert following underwhelming British GP result
The recently concluded British Grand Prix was another underwhelming race weekend for Scuderia Ferrari. While Carlos Sainz saved the day for them with a P5 finish, Charles Leclerc once again had an afternoon to forget.

The Monegasque driver finished outside the points in P14. With this, he has come home without points thrice in the last four races. Their last glory came in Monaco when Leclerc won his home GP and Sainz claimed P3.

From then on, the team has had a downward trajectory in terms of performance as rivals trim their championship points gaps. As per reports, the Prancing Horse lost three months of development after reverting to its Italian GP specifications from Imola. Sainz told the media after the British GP,

“We have lost two or three months of performance gain in the wind tunnel or performance we could have added in these three months, so clearly we haven’t taken the right calls recently.”
Thanks to their initial performances this season, they are still holding on to the P2 spot in the Constructors’ Championship, but barely. They have 302 points to their name, compared to McLaren’s 295 (P3). Mercedes are not far behind with 221 points in P4.