Photography by Jan Morgan
Collection Gift Guide: Formula Fun
December 1, 2006
Whatever a racing aficionado’s opinion about the performance and politics of Formula One might be, most will agree that the F/1 car is at the pinnacle of automotive technology. There simply is nothing more sophisticated than an F/1 racer, and it is every enthusiast’s dream to drive one.
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The numbers alone tell the story: An F/1 car weighs in at 1,200 pounds, and
it is motivated by 750 hp. That is more than twice the power-to-weight ratio of
the world’s fastest road car, the Bugatti Veyron. Aerodynamics squash these
single-seat land missiles onto the pavement with two tons of downforce, enabling
cornering forces in excess of 2 g. (Click image to enlarge)
Until recently, access to track time in a contemporary F/1 car has been restricted to racing drivers with professional credentials or collectors with the means and the right connections to acquire a modern F/1. And that brings us to Laurent Redon.
Redon is a former F/1 test driver for the Benetton and Minardi teams. Through his professional connections, he has acquired several contemporary F/1 cars directly from the racing teams of Benetton, Williams, Prost, Larousse, and Arrows.
These cars form the stable of LRS Formula USA, a type of F/1 driving-school experience, which features lapping sessions or race outings in Redon’s collection of F/1 cars for anyone who would like to experience F/1 from the cockpit of a race-proven car.
During the summer, LRS, which is co-owned by Pierre-Louis Moroni, operates at F/1 circuits in Magny-Cours, France, and in Barcelona, home of the Spanish Grand Prix, plus venues in Monza, Italy, and Nürburgring, Germany. From October to May, LRS conducts lapping sessions at Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s road course.
The cars are immaculately prepared, with actual F/1 engines from Cosworth and Peugeot in both V-8 and V-10 configurations, mated to paddle-shift transmissions set up to run manual or semiautomatic programs. The tires are the current Bridgestone tires as used by Ferrari and other F/1 teams.
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