What happens when you take a car that can accelerate to 62 mph in less than two seconds, pull more G’s than a Space Shuttle launch, and can hit a top speed over 200 mph, and put it on an icy ski slope? Well the guys over at the Red Bull F1 Team decided to find out, and it looks dramatic.
It’s been a few months since the F1 season finished, and still another 2 months before the 2016 season starts, so the guys at the Milton Keynes based Austrian team must have had some time on their hands as they borrowed the a driver from their sister team Toro Rosso and took to the ski slopes of Kitzbuhel in Austria Alps in subzero temperatures.
The slope itself was up at an altitude of 1,600 metres – so high in fact that the car had to be flown up by helicopter!
The man trusted with not driving a vehicle worth more than £5 million (and himself) off the side of the mountain was Belgium racer Max Verstappen – the youngest Formula One driver in the history of the sport.
The showpiece spectacle was to promote the upcoming Hahnenkammrennen World Cup Alpine Skiing Races, which itself are a test of supreme skill, fitness and bravery.
Now anyone who watches F1 will know that F1 don’t particularly like even rain, so several thousand tonnes of snow might prove someone troublesome, however the car (RB7) was outfitted with studded Pirelli tires and snow chains before being let loose to give Verstappen at least a fighting chance, as well as re-tuning the an engine and set up that are used to working in searing temperatures (including some rounds that take place in the desert).
You can watch a video of the event below, as well as an onboard clip of just how hair-raising it was, and for more information, videos, and pictures of the event please head here.