In her fortnightly review of fitness and wellbeing activities, comedian Jennifer Wong puts pedal to the metal in a push to claim her own Melbourne grand prix
Driving – or rather, pretending to drive – an F1 car has a yoga-like beginning: shoes off. I walk up two small steps placed next to a full-size replica Lotus E20 racing car. I slide into a deep black hole that places me right near the ground. The racing simulator owner, David, calls it the bathtub of death: “You get an idea for how small and fit the drivers are.” My legs stretch out in front of me to reach the pedals. In real cars, the seat is moulded to fit the driver’s body. Here it’s more like sitting in a bowling ball.
This is where the yoga (and bowling) similarities end and the high stakes begin. I want to understand what it’s like to travel at hundreds of kilometres an hour. But since I haven’t driven in eight years because of an eye condition, I do this at a Sydney racing simulator, facing a large curved screen with simple graphics showing the Melbourne grand prix circuit on a clear sunny day.