How Driving An F1 Car Affects Heart Rate Of A Normal Person

So I recently posted about my experience of driving an F1 car and a few people asked about my heart rate, I didn't think anything of it until I remembered I was wearing my Smart Watch that always monitors my heart rate.

This is probably far too dull, but I thought it was cool how clear it was to see the spikes and thought a few people might find it interesting. We always get told how this stuff affects elite atheletes, but not normal people (I am far from an elite athelete…)

• 7.30 – Arrival at the track, little spike of excitement
• 8:15 – Passenger ride with the instructor – not too exciting
• 9:30 – First drive in a Formula Renault – 160bpm
• 10:30 – Second session in Formula Renault – Identical heart rate but more prolonged, was definitely going much faster in this session, suprised heart rate didn't go higher than first run
• 12:00 – Being told I'm first out in the F1 car – 145bpm
• 12:15 – On track in an F1 car – 179bpm

So even for a normal guy, not pushing hard, an F1 car will get you to nearly 180bpm.

What struck me is how clear you can see all 3 sessions in cars and how the F1 car had a noticeably bigger impact than other racing cars which were already pretty exciting to drive.