Video: Sauber F1 team hacks car… In half

Anyone who has ever watched an F1 race knows the competing vehicles are insanely fast and quite agile.

The cars are also incredibly expensive and complex, as the vehicles are so small it’s often difficult to understand how the engine, driver and fuel can be safely packed inside such a small bit of space.

Frankly, I’ve always wondered exactly how all the components are arranged, as every inch of usable space inside the racecar is used – with the exception of a small crumple zone in the front nose cone of the car.

Fortunately, the Sauber Formula One team seems to share my curiousity, as the crew recently took one of its expensive racing cars and cut it down the middle to show exactly what the inside of a F1 vehicle looks like.

According to the team spokesperson, it took a total of two years to complete the project. One key fact omitted in the video above? How they cut the car in half. I wonder if the Formula One team simply took a vehicle that was already built and used some sort of saw or high-pressure water stream to dissect it, or if they cut each individual component in half and then placed the parts in their appropriate locations.

Regardless, the most amazing scene in the video is when they bring the driver out and prop him up to show the cockpit. There is literally no space left around the driver, as he’s practically wearing the car.