05/07/2021
NEWS STORY
Formula 1 is an exciting sport to watch with a lot of thrill, speed and action.
However it is also very high risk and highly competitive which brings in a lot of money to these teams and drivers. The driver's main aim is to win the Grand Prix, while they also try their best not to damage their car or not to crash it, risking even losing their lives. How is this sport similar to sitting in the casino and gambling with money?
Risk
Drivers take chances in the race and some even take unnecessary risks because they are not skillful enough to make a proper judgement of what is happening. This could lead them into 'crashing' which could cost their lives, health or money from contract with the team.
Similarly, you could be at the casino playing roulette, blackjack or trying your luck with slot machines and pretty soon decide to take unnecessary risks which will lead you to lose all your money in a few minutes. You may gamble on many occasions just for fun and get 20 free spins no deposit but that does not mean there is no risk involved.
The more demanding the race is, the higher is the risk to try to win it. Drivers have to use their best judgement and decide whether the risk is worth taking or not. If they crash after risking too much, other competitors will be able to win the race.
If you are gambling on a risky game, it means that your chances of winning are smaller than if you were playing a more predictable game like blackjack or roulette.
Skill
F1 drivers are the best drivers in the world, and the competition between one another is high since they are already the top ones. They are among the best in what they do, but even among the most skilled ones some still lose.
If you gamble with experienced gamblers being an amateur, you have a tiny chance to win. So in gambling, skill only works to a certain point, and luck decides the rest. F1 can be similar, other drivers can have better days and conditions on the particular day of the race.
Luck
Some crashes happen because of driver's fault or mistake (e.g., wrong judgment while overtaking), but most of them are just accidental and unavoidable since drivers have no control on other cars and there is always some unpredictable circumstance can cause a crash (e.g., sudden rain, fuel problems, mechanical failure).
Luck in F1 is like luck in gambling and life itself - both are unpredictable.
In the race of San Marino 2014 , two cars crashed after a piece of errant bodywork flew into their cockpit and blinded them. This dramatic accident happened because of bad luck that day.
Gamblers are mainly based on luck even though they might think their skill can change the odds. Luck-based gambling includes slot machines, lotteries and roulette.
Emotions
There are many spectators of the top races around the world in F1 like Grand Prix. People sometimes have a very high emotional involvement in the performance of their favorite driver, team and country. In an extreme case, some fans were so emotional that they might hurt themselves or others when their team lost the race (though it is not really F1's fault).
The same with gamblers. Victory or loss can bring extreme emotional pleasure or pain.
For gamblers and F1 fans, the result of a race/game could change their emotion from happy to sad or even mad. They might get so angry that they destroy some objects at home or around them.
Betting
F1 fans really like to bet which driver or which team will win the race. It could be even more fun when you invite some friends to bet with you and have a good time together waiting for the outcome and as a result to win or lose money.
Gamblers also like to bet on races/games, which is the reason that they visit casinos, betting shops, enter a casino online or a betting platform. Betting is also a part of every casino game since you need to place a bet on a certain situation on the table or put money into a slot machine in order to play.
Time
Formula 1 races can be quite long since a single race lasts for around 2.5 hours and if it is a Grand Prix race then the whole event could take up to 4 - 5 days. The longest bettors have to wait for is during the qualifying sessions which sometimes can last for up to 3 hours! How many times have you sat in front of TV watching the same football game or basketball match?
Gamblers can sit in the casino for several hours without any breaks, just like F1 drivers can sit in their cars for 3+ hours during a race or F1 fans in the audience or in front of TV.
Conclusion
Even though F1 sport and gambling might seem like two totally different worlds, they have a lot in common. A Formula 1 race is like a huge casino game in which you can bet your money and try to win some more. However, just like gambling, F1 racing has always attracted negative attention from people who oppose the risk-taking nature of it.