The concentration levels needed to fight for the lead of a Formula One race are probably the same that footballers experience when taking a penalty in the World Cup final, or tennis players go through when serving to win the Wimbledon tennis championship. But there is one big difference between Formula One and most other sports: A Grand Prix driver has almost no chance to rest when he’s out there in action.
While football players can eat oranges at halftime, and tennis players get to sit down and drink water between each set, racing drivers cannot suddenly choose to go to the toilet halfway through the race or pull over at the side of the track to take a breather. Once the driver is strapped in, that’s it until the chequered flag comes out at the end of the race. Although drivers do have a water bottle in their cockpits, they still have to drink plenty of fluid before the race starts. In fact, drivers get so hydrated before the race starts that you often see them nipping off to the toilet before the race. And believe it or not, once the race is underway, they may even go in the car if nature calls – and they don’t expect to clean up afterwards! Drivers sweat so much during the race that they get very dehydrated, which means that the first thing they want to do when they get out of the car is to find a bottle of water rather than punch the air in delight. After winning the 2002 Monaco Grand Prix, David Coulthard said that he did not go to the toilet again until the next morning – despite drinking all evening as he celebrated his victory.
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