The Olympic motto is “Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together”. To seize on the first word of that motto, let’s make the games faster.
If the Olympics is the ultimate proving ground for an athlete, then surely it’s time to
get Formula One on the dance card.
Internal combustion engines have been part of the Olympics before. Powerboating was an event at the 1908 Olympics in London, with Frenchman Émile Thubron (a British-born Frenchman who later retired to New Zealand) winning the open class.
Other than the track and field events, there are some pretty high-end technological pieces of kit being used in sports like cycling, rowing, sailing, shooting, archery and BMX to name but a few.
Olympic competitors are elite athletes at the top of their game and it has been medically proven that top-flight motorsport drivers – particularly those in Formula One – are among the fittest and most highly tuned athletes in the world. Don’t start on how the drivers sit down – at least they’re not going backwards.
F1 drivers have to be at 80 per cent or more of their maximum heart rate for a couple of hours, be able to handle G-forces of up to 6.5G (imagine your head weight multiplied 6.5 times and you’re trying to hold it steady for a couple of hours), constantly exerting 80kg or more pressure each time you brake for a corner and sitting in cockpit temperatures of more than 50C.
Drivers perform like this at 23 events a year and the consequences of getting it wrong and crashing are more severe than tripping up on a running track.
Along with their exceptional physical and mental fitness and endurance, F1 drivers have phenomenal reflexes and operate with pinpoint precision. If the International Olympic Committee were to recognise these skills and give credit to the diverse nature of athleticism, they would expand on the traditional notion of what makes an Olympic sport.
The one thing motorsport has that other spots can’t match is the trickledown effect of advanced technology being implemented in everyday transport for safety, efficiency and innovation.
The global audience reach for, say, rhythmic gymnastics, breaking (whatever that is), sport climbing or synchronised swimming combined wouldn’t come anywhere close to the global audience F1 reaches. The expanded audience would lead to higher revenue streams for the (already bloated) IOC.
The Olympic race wouldn’t have to be a standalone event as it could be included on the F1 race calendar every four years as a special event. For example, the next Olympics is in Los Angles in 2028, where an F1 Grand Prix already takes place; the Games go to Brisbane in 2032, which is already lined up for the Australian Grand Prix. Easy.
There is clear alignment with the Olympic motto and ethos. F1 has the competitive spirit and the pursuit of excellence and demonstrates the power of teamwork. F1 is also showcasing the sport’s contribution to sustainability and the environment via engaging with green technologies. It’s the perfect meld of high-performance sport and caring for the planet. It’s a no-brainer, really.
I think I’ll start a petition ...
