Watch This Drone Smoke a Red Bull F1 Car in a Drag Race
Red Bull has a new toy. No, it’s not a stunt plane or race car. It’s a drone with the specific purpose of keeping pace with F1 cars like Max Verstappen’s Red Bull RB20 for the upcoming season. So, it’s no surprise that the little flying machine will contend with a race car in a drag race.
The Prototype Drone 1 had no problem leaving David Coulthard and a Red Bull RB8 F1 car in the dust
The “Dutch Drone Gods” want to make drones fast enough to produce the next generation of race coverage. Enter the Prototype Drone 1, a custom, manually piloted unit that can accelerate twice as fast as a Formula 1 car.
Appropriately enough, the Prototype Drone 1’s whole purpose is to keep up with F1 cars. That’s no easy feat; modern-day F1 cars can hit speeds of well over 300 kph (186 mph). However, F1 cars must weigh a minimum of 1,759 lbs (798 kg), per the FIA. The drone, on the other hand, can be featherlight.
The result? The custom drone will accelerate from a standstill to 186 mph in just 4.0 seconds. That’s 1.4 seconds longer than the average Formula One car needs to hit 60 mph. So, you might imagine that former racing driver David Coulthard and a now-retired Red Bull RB8 F1 car wouldn’t be able to outrun the custom Dutch Drone Gods creation.
You’d be right. As a simple demonstration of the drone’s blistering pickup, Coulthard and the quick little flying camera took off from a standstill in a drag race. Unsurprisingly, the little remotely piloted aircraft took the win. Check out the video below for the race!
One thing is for sure: if footage like this is an indicator of the upcoming season, get ready for some next level scenes of Max Verstappen battling the roster in the new RB20.
