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F1 drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson take NASCAR challenge

500 hp stock cars with three brakes drive differently than F1 cars

By Bruce Brown Nov 16, 2024 5:05 PM

Visa Cash App Red Bull F1 drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson battle it out with stock cars. — Image used with permission by copyright holder

What do F1 drivers do for fun when not driving Formula 1 race cars? They race other types of cars. Formula 1 Visa Cash App RB drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson had the chance to race NASCAR-style stock cars in Austin, Texas.

The setup

F1 Drivers vs NASCAR Challenge 🏁

Tsunoda and Lawson didn’t just arrive at a race track and start driving. Red Bull Motorsports sponsors diverse

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types of racing teams. and the Stock Car Challenge, including coaching partners with Red Bull NASCAR Cup Series drivers Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch.

Tsunoda and Lawson had to meet three driving challenges to prepare for oval dirt track racing. The cars they raced on dirt had roughly 500 horsepower V8 naturally-aspirated (no turbocharger) V8 engines, which is a big difference from the 800+ hp hybrid engines they drive in F1. The stock cars also had brakes on only three wheels—there’s no brake on the right front wheel to help with cornering on the counterclockwise oval dirt track.

The challenges were Find the Line, Cornering Speed, and Qualifying Lap. As the video shows, Yuki and Liam were about even with the preliminaries. Like Formula 1, the Qualifying Lap determined the starting position in tier competition.

The race

Unlike the usual starting grid in Formula 1 Grand Prix racing, the challenge race did not start from standing still. The drivers drove a full moving lap before taking the green flag to begin the actual multi-lap race.

It was all fun and (racing) games, and both drivers did well, but it was also interesting to see the competitiveness of these elite drivers.

Bruce Brown Contributing Editor As a Contributing Editor to the Auto teams at Digital Trends and TheManual.com, Bruce… Read Full Bio

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