You think that Formula 1 drivers have it easy, don’t you? Granted, they are much more talented behind the wheel than you and me, but they are at the top motorsport racing level, traveling around the world, gaining fortune and fame and then retiring at a comparatively young age to enjoy the rest of their life.
Evo’s Dickie Meaden thought along the same lines; that is, until he got the opportunity to drive a 1998 Ferrari F300 Formula 1 car that was used as a spare for then Scuderia drivers, Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine.
Besides the expletives (some of which are censored) he utters, Meaden finds the task far more difficult than what he expected. Now, Meaden is an experienced journalists and he surely enjoyed the acceleration, braking and sounds of the V10-powered racecar.
Meaden honestly admits, though, that he wasn’t able to even scratch the surface of the 14-year old car, conceding that it takes a unique kind of driver to explore a Formula 1 car’s abilities.
Mind you, the F300 wasn’t the best car on the 1998 grid; McLaren’s MP4/13 was superior, so Schumacher lost the title to Mika Hakkinen and Ferrari was second in the constructors’ championship behind Ron Dennis’ outfit.
Nevertheless, the Rory Byrne-designed F300 formed the basis for Ferrari’s and Schumacher’s dominance in the following years.
You can watch Meaden driving the F1 car and enjoy the ear-piercing howl of its 3.0-liter V10 engine right after the jump.
By Andrew Tsaousis
VIDEO