F1 physical

Mar 16, 2005 by Aleksandar Vacić 2 minute read

I remember that few years ago David Coulthard fired his trainer because he could not keep up with David’s pace. When you look at the race, it seems unnaturally easy - they just cruise around, keep away (or at least should) from other cars and the gravel and all is fine.

And then you see Jarno Truli almost vomitting after the race, Fernando Alonso almost fainted after Hungary…there must be something more here…

Then you go and drive small carthing for 10 minutes and collect your internal organs for days. Man, how they drive for two hours…

And today, while I routinely checked F1-Racing-Live, there’s this:

All race drivers … are subjected to forces of up to 5G on track

Dehydration levels of just 2% have a negative effect on concentration levels, muscle contractile strength and endurance.

Losses of 5% or more can lead to up to a 30% drop off in physical performance.

Fluids are an integral part of any nutritional programme, because water comprises 92 percent of the blood in the body and 75 percent of the brain, as well as 75 percent of the muscle tissue.

Just a three percent loss of body fluid reduces muscle strength by 10 percent.

The drivers are working in a cockpit environment that can be over 50 degrees centigrade.

In an average race, a driver loses up to a litre of his body fluid. In Malaysia the heat and humidity can cause them to lose up to four litres

Nice, isn’t it?