Fear Factor

Yours Truly was once scared of Formula One drivers.

Frightened. Terrified. Petrified. Horrified.

To be exact, he was panic-stricken by the sight of those wearing eyes-only balaclavas (a.k.a. two-hole balaclavas) in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

He was especially spooked when he caught a glimpse of these balaclavas while watching the grainy footage of old Formula One highlights in some foreign language with unnervingly creepy music in the background.

To prove that Yours Truly was (and, hopefully, is) not insane, check out these pictures:

Nelson Piquet (Photo credit: Motorsport.com)

Niki Lauda (Photo credit: Instagram.com)

Carlos Reutemann (Photo credit: Pinterest.com)

Hector Rebaque (Photo credit: Pinterest.com)

(Front to back) Trio of Reutemann, Rebaque & Piquet (Photo credit: Facebook.com)

Andrea De Cesaris (Photo credit: Pinterest.com)

Jacques Laffite (Photo credit: Facebook.com)

Patrick Depailler (Photo credit: Pinterest.com)

Formula One cars are getting so safe that drivers have apparently ditched these menacing balaclavas. While open face balaclavas (those not covering their nose and even mouth) give them extra comfort, they do not strike fear on anyone like the good old ones did.

And the feeble-minded like Yours Truly when he was very small can finally let out a sigh of relief.