Wish Upon A Spa

Nothing can fully prepare you for the challenge of driving a Formula 1 car, as evo’s Adam Towler finds out – at Spa-Francorchamps, on race weekend

- Adam Towler

WHY DON’T YOU DRIVE IT AT SPA?’

SKREECH! Needle jars against vinyl; my world lurches to a halt on its axis.

‘We’re supporting Formula One Management,’ adds Tour de Force’s boss Matt Faulks, ‘putting on demo laps on the Saturday after qualifying. How cool would that be – your first drive of an F1 car, at Spa, in front of the F1 paddock!’ I stare at Faulks in silence for an embarrassingly long period, expecting any moment to hear the words, ‘Nah, only joking.’ But they never come.

Earlier today I’d felt as green as Henri Pescarolo’s crash helmet as the pitlane exit at Snetterton turned into a boating lake and rain curtailed any running. In fact, I’d secretly been thrilled when Faulks finally threw in the towel. No relief has been replaced by a mixture of terror and hyper-elation. Spa. F1 car. Quali-day crowds. This is ridiculous; I’ve never even driven a single-seater before…

It’s only a few days later that I’m sitting snug within the impossibly tight confines of the 2011 Marussia Virgin Racing MVR02, chassis 001, once the mount of Messrs Glock and D’Ambrosio, like a bag of expanding foam hardens around my spine to form my new ‘seat’. ‘Stig’, my newly assigned number one mechanic, is diligently checking the clearances down in the foot box, while the heat, as the congealing foam cures, makes me feel like I’ve just wet myself. But this isn’t just an MVR-02, it’s also a ‘TDF1’ – a specific re-engineering, for a new purpose.