Train driving vs. Formula 1 driving comparison

[38Cto15E]

Moderator note: split from

9M50 - 9 Car Pendolino Low Speed Buffer Collision At London Euston - 05/07/2025

How did this happen?

www.railforums.co.uk

It must be very monotonous going up and down the WCML with a 390 every day. Back in the day drivers would be in 'Links' which covered different routes and different traction etc bringing some variety to the job.

Also, driving a Pendolino day in day out carries more pressure than driving a Formula 1 racing car, and occasionally they have been known to make an error.

 

[AndrewE]

It must be very monotonous going up and down the WCML with a 390 every day. Back in the day drivers would be in 'Links' which covered different routes and different traction etc bringing some variety to the job.
Also driving a Pendolino day in day out carries more pressure than driving a Formula 1 racing car, and occasionaly they have been known to make an error.

What? If you had said Waterloo and City, the Watford DC trains or even a shuttle from Euston to Tring I could have agreed, but (apart from freight) aren't these among the most interesting driving jobs nowadays?

 

[Sorcerer]

It must be very monotonous going up and down the WCML with a 390 every day. Back in the day drivers would be in 'Links' which covered different routes and different traction etc bringing some variety to the job.

Unless the driver involved in this incident was based in Manchester they also would've signed an 805/807. But monotony in general is just part of the train driver role, and for all we know this collision could've just as well been due to a train or infrastructure problem (like adhesion). We'll have to wait and see what comes of the investigation before we can draw conclusions really.

 

[Deepgreen]

It must be very monotonous going up and down the WCML with a 390 every day. Back in the day drivers would be in 'Links' which covered different routes and different traction etc bringing some variety to the job.
Also driving a Pendolino day in day out carries more pressure than driving a Formula 1 racing car, and occasionaly they have been known to make an error.

What?? Perhaps I should assume you are joking/being sarcastic... For example, how much steering to avoid collisions do train drivers do?

 

[Tetchytyke]

What?? Perhaps I should assume you are joking/being sarcastic... For example, how much steering to avoid collisions do train drivers do?

Different types of pressure. Train driving is low stimulus/high concentration, which is a very difficult skill to master.

Comparing apples and pears, but F1 drivers don’t have to memorise every signal on 400 miles of railway…

 

[38Cto15E]

Tetchytyke, Thank you for seeing where I am coming from.

 

[DarloRich]

Also, driving a Pendolino day in day out carries more pressure than driving a Formula 1 racing car, and occasionally they have been known to make an error.

how thick a neck do you need to drive a train? Not many 5G corners on the WCML

 

[Gloster]

I have previously described train driving as being like Formula 1, although I have never been either type of driver. A train driver is having to drive consistently up to the limits of train and line, not for competitive reasons, but because all drivers have to drive to the near-maximum in order to keep to the timetable which is based on the maximum practical performance. The must all brake, accelerate, maintain level speeds, etc. the same way: you can’t run a railway if you have one driver pootling along cautiously with a queue of trains stuck behind. Some things are done for them, such as the calculation of speeds through points and curves, but they have to both know the speed and how best to achieve it with minimum delay. They may not have to steer, but they can’t steer round things.

 

[yorkie]

...A train driver is having to drive consistently up to the limits of train and line, not for competitive reasons, but because all drivers have to drive to the near-maximum in order to keep to the timetable which is based on the maximum practical performance....

Are you sure? My understanding is that on many routes/TOCs, drivers are encouraged to drive efficiently (e.g. coasting, where appropriate) and also 'defensively', as well as smoothly.

I've been on many trains that have arrived at stations early recently, including several of those which departed late from the previous stop, and yet experienced smooth rides, with no evidence of harsh braking/acceleration to the train's limits.

The only times I recall a long-distance train was driven to the absolute maximum practical performance, I've been abroad, e.g. in Hungary. A member of train crew from the same train (who was likely Austrian; the train was OBB, and they were on since Vienna), said that this only happens on the Hungarian section, and not in Austria.

 

[Gloster]

Are you sure? My understanding is that on many routes/TOCs, drivers are encouraged to drive efficiently (e.g. coasting, where appropriate) and also 'defensively', as well as smoothly.

I've been on many trains that have arrived at stations early recently, including several of those which departed late from the previous stop.

The only times I recall a train was driven to the absolute maximum practical performance, I've been abroad, e.g. in Hungary. A member of train crew from the same train (who was likely Austrian; the train was OBB, and they were on since Vienna) said that this only happens on the Hungarian section, and not in Austria.

If efficiency is part of driving technique, then driving with maximum efficiency, such as knowing when to coast, becomes one of the practical performance factors that they have to take into account and achieve to the maximum. The same as a Formula 1 driver has to think of his tyres and refuelling stops.

 

[brad465]

Has anyone tried getting Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen into the cab of a Pendolino so we can find out for sure?

(other F1 racers are available)

 

[Cloud Strife]

If efficiency is part of driving technique, then driving with maximum efficiency, such as knowing when to coast, becomes one of the practical performance factors that they have to take into account and achieve to the maximum. The same as a Formula 1 driver has to think of his tyres and refuelling stops.

I'd argue that being an F1 driver is more difficult because the margin of error is so small, especially in some cars like this year's RB21 which is clearly an awful car to drive if you're not Max Verstappen. In comparison, a train driver doesn't have to worry about precision, no-one is going to bother a train driver for arriving 30 seconds late to a station because they were driving defensively. On the other hand, the sheer amount of information that a train driver has to memorise is far more than anything in F1. But then again, F1 drivers don't have to keep to a timetable when driving through the fog or rain!

Train driving is low stimulus/high concentration, which is a very difficult skill to master.

I couldn't do it. Maybe the UK isn't a great example, but blasting through Spain at 320km/h when it's very unlikely that anything will bother you except some speed limit changes would be incredibly difficult to concentrate on. I'd even argue that this mix of low stimulus and high concentration makes train driving even more difficult than being a pilot, as there's so many things to check and cross-check in a cockpit. Even if nothing is happening in the dead of night over the Atlantic, a pilot can still spend time learning more and more about the plane systems, whereas a train driver has to focus ahead of them at all times. Perhaps being a pilot is more difficult during ascent and especially descent, but it doesn't require absolute concentration for hours on end.

 

[43096]

I have previously described train driving as being like Formula 1, although I have never been either type of driver. A train driver is having to drive consistently up to the limits of train and line, not for competitive reasons, but because all drivers have to drive to the near-maximum in order to keep to the timetable which is based on the maximum practical performance. The must all brake, accelerate, maintain level speeds, etc. the same way: you can’t run a railway if you have one driver pootling along cautiously with a queue of trains stuck behind. Some things are done for them, such as the calculation of speeds through points and curves, but they have to both know the speed and how best to achieve it with minimum delay. They may not have to steer, but they can’t steer round things.

There is absolutely no equivalence between F1 and driving a train. F1 drivers drive on the limit - the actual physical limit of keeping the car on the track. Train drivers don't, or otherwise we'd see far more crashes than we do and passengers would be strapped in.

Just look at the number of F1 drivers against train drivers. There's not many have the elite skills and physical fitness to be a F1 driver. In contrast, train driving is just a regular job - they don't even steer, someone sat in an office does it for them.

 

[JohnMcL7]

There is no comparison between F1 drivers and train drivers, it's no insult to train drivers but F1 drivers (and others in top level motorsports) have to be able to perform at a level beyond what most humans can. The level of precision they need is just incredible when you look at how tiny the margins are between the lap times and they have to memorise huge amount of information, they need to know the tracks to an incredible detail and the cars themselves are extremely complicated with many different configurations and options they have to be aware of and know how to use. Driving the cars is effectively driving them on a knife edge since even minor errors will throw the car off track and worse yet is that the knife edge is always changing position depending on the weather, the tyre degradation etc.

An obvious counterpoint is that an F1 driver is considered old to be still competing in their 40s and Alonso at 43 is unusually old to be still competing at the top level because it's age where their speed is no longer good enough to be competitive, that's certainly not the case with train drivers.

 

[styles]

Apples and oranges.

The original suggestion was that the train driver would be under more 'pressure'.

Arguably carrying 600 passengers who expect a very low risk journey adds more 'pressure' than being on a track where the other drivers are voluntarily participating in what is basically an extreme sport.

On the other hand, modern UK trains have a fantastic safety record if measured per mile driven, or per driver/passenger.

Pressure comes in many forms and different sources of pressure affect different people to varying degrees.

 

[perkin]

Different types of pressure. Train driving is low stimulus/high concentration, which is a very difficult skill to master.

Comparing apples and pears, but F1 drivers don’t have to memorise every signal on 400 miles of railway…

It's an entirely ridiculous comparison, I agree, but the F1 drivers will memorise just about every tiny bump and every line/braking point/apex etc on all of the tracks they drive on...

 

[66701GBRF]

F1 goes beyond the basics of what happens on track. Staying in peak physical and mental condition, being in the public eye, constant media attention, being an ambassador for the sport or team. Even on track, they are risking their lives, fighting for championships, fighting for their career, extreme competition for a seat, having 1000s of employees affected by your performance.

 

[dcbwhaley]

What?? Perhaps I should assume you are joking/being sarcastic... For example, how much steering to avoid collisions do train drivers do?

And how much understeer or oversteer does a train driver have to cope with?

 

[Cloud Strife]

It's an entirely ridiculous comparison, I agree, but the F1 drivers will memorise just about every tiny bump and every line/braking point/apex etc on all of the tracks they drive on...

Actually, not necessarily so. A lot of this is not simulated, and they don't have enough time on the tracks to be able to do this. Part of what makes F1 drivers so skilful is that they need to be able to learn the track in a small amount of time, although some will spend hours and hours in the simulator to add to this.

Driving the cars is effectively driving them on a knife edge since even minor errors will throw the car off track and worse yet is that the knife edge is always changing position depending on the weather, the tyre degradation etc.

Some are like that, others aren't. For instance, the Mercedes at the start of the hybrid era had such a huge advantage because of the engine that they really weren't driving anywhere near the limit. Nowadays, they also aren't really driving near the limit of the cars (Red Bull aside...) because of the fuel restrictions, tyre issues, etc.

 

[Efini92]

Moderator note: split from

9M50 - 9 Car Pendolino Low Speed Buffer Collision At London Euston - 05/07/2025

How did this happen?

www.railforums.co.uk

It must be very monotonous going up and down the WCML with a 390 every day. Back in the day drivers would be in 'Links' which covered different routes and different traction etc bringing some variety to the job.

Also, driving a Pendolino day in day out carries more pressure than driving a Formula 1 racing car, and occasionally they have been known to make an error.

Drivers are still in links today. It’s only work content that’s changed.
There’s no pressure driving a pendolino, you aren’t competing in a race.
There is comparisons with route knowledge v track acclimatisation.

 

[Harpo]

The biggest strategic difference between F1 and (UK) trains is that an F1 driver is tasked with working to the absolute limits of a machines capability and minimise the time taken to do absolutely everything.

UK trains driving did have some parallels in the recent past but has now moved to be the polar opposite of that.

 

[notadriver]

What about comparing train driving in this case a Pendolino with a coach driver (carries passengers over long distances on the same route ?)

How much do they push the respective limits of each vehicle in day to day running ?

 

[bahnause]

Some of the requirements for being a Formula 1 driver, a pilot or a train driver overlap; others differ. A high level of concentration and technical understanding is essential for all three roles, but physical fitness is certainly more important for a Formula 1 driver.

As a train driver, I also need different skill sets depending on the situation. For example, during peak hours on a busy urban network where every second counts, the level of mental focus required is completely different to that in a driving situation where I can concentrate on energy-saving techniques and consider what will happen on the route in the next 10–15 minutes.

But even then, you need to be fully aware of what's going on, especially when driving at maximum line speed. A signal might jump out of the bush. A good example why can be found here

 

[Acey]

As an ex-train driver ( SE ) I would say there is no real comparison ,different job skills entirely ,to me one of the main differences is that in a normal race a F1 driver has to be 100% focused the whole of the race time ,even if in the lead by a long margin there will be no let up in effort and concentration ! When I was driving there were times when the actual job could be quite stressful ,peak -time delays heading into London ,constant yellow/red signals with minimal
overlap distance, or being stuck at Blackheath station, midnight with a dozen angry passengers cos the Networker won't work due to 4 inches of snow on the line and another 465 up the line and you have to bring the two trains together in a blizzard to try to make a longer train to help traction etc ( and of course you are on your own ) pretty stressful really ! At the opposite end of the spectrum,early Sunday morning working a 8 car down to Hastings and back in good weather ,few passengers,plenty of time to relax and admire the scenery and an interesting and varied job !

 

[Bald Rick]

It must be very monotonous going up and down the WCML with a 390 every day.

Well, most Avanti drivers will go up and down the WCML no more than once a day, and on average every other day.

 

[D1511]

There's one obvious similarity between train drivers and formula one drivers.......how fast they go depends entirely on the vehicle they're in!