British racing driver announces ambitious plan to drive an ‘F1’ car upside down in a tunnel

Scott Mansell is British former motorsports racing driver and founder of Driver61.

British racing driver announces ambitious plan to drive an ‘F1’ car upside down in a tunnel

The Empire Wraith Hillclimb car (image via Race Cars Direct)

F1 cars are known to be one of the most advanced in the automotive industry. For years, experts have claimed that an F1 car could go upside down courtesy of its massive downforce levels. Even drivers such as Daniel Ricciardo have agreed that this is possible. Now, British racing driver and YouTuber Scott Mansell has announced that he will finally prove this theory.

Mansell is the founder of the channel Driver61 on YouTube. The Briton is known for his immense knowledge of the racing world. The 38-year-old posted a thread on Twitter, describing his entire plan for this colossal run. Scott Mansell revealed that hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on R&D. He wrote, “I’m going to drive an ‘F1’ car upside down in a tunnel for 5 seconds. Sounds crazy, right? Well, it is possible. I know as we’ve spent multiple six-figures on R&D finding out.”

YouTube video

The 38-year-old made it clear that the goal is to drive the car upside down for more than five seconds without any changes or modifications. Mansell would only use ‘organic’ aerodynamics to achieve this mammoth task. Scott Mansell clarified, “NO loop-the-loops, NO centripetal force, NO fans to suck a car to the ground.”

FS Video

However, the Briton cited two reasons for not actually driving a real F1 car for this plan. Mansell highlighted that the massive weight of 798g of the current cars on the grid would require a much longer tunnel. Moreover, the internal combustion engine would not get sufficient fuel and oils when an F1 car is driven upside down.

Also Read: F1 legend Nigel Mansell auctions his iconic racing memorabilia for $2.5 million 

Scott Mansell to drive in a purpose-built tunnel

The British driver needed a light car with immense downforce. As such, Mansell picked the Empire Wraith. This beast of a machine was designed by Formula 1 aero expert, Willem Toet. The Empire Wraith is a Hillclimb car weighing just 311kg and producing a lot of downforce. Toet will further make modifications to the car to generate even more downforce.

A diagram of the proposed tunnel by Scott Mansell
A diagram of the proposed tunnel by Scott Mansell. (Credits: @Scottkmansell/Twitter)

Scott Mansell revealed that a normal tunnel would not work for this plan. A usual tunnel has a flat bottom that prohibits a smooth transition to the sides. Moreover, the lights and other parts would make the ride bumpy. As such, a completely new tunnel will be built for this plan. The tunnel would be built in a ‘C’ shape with uniform curvature. Mansell named the plan, “PROJECT INVERSION.”

Certainly, this is one of the most ambitious plans in the automotive world. However, a lot of planning and money has been injected into this project. Scott Mansell is confident that he can finally achieve this massive feat and drive a single-seater race car upside down. Fans would be looking forward to finally seeing a race car go upside down in a tunnel.

In case you missed it: