Working it out

Once upon a time, drivers wouldn’t think twice about smoking, drinking, and eating what they wanted – and their only exercise would be getting out of bed in the morning to go to the race tracks. Nowadays, however, one of the first luxuries a Formula One driver has added to his house when he starts earning big money is not a new television or stereo; it’s his own personal gym. As the sport has become ever more competitive, so drivers have got fitter and fitter. Today, Formula One drivers leave absolutely nothing to chance and they often have their own physical trainers and dieticians to make sure that they are in the best shape possible. Some of the sport’s current top stars, like Michael Schumacher and Mark Webber, have hardly any body fat on them at all and are as fit as any other major sports star.
A Formula One driver spends anything between two and five hours every day in the gym, and some do even more. They spend this time on cardiovascular exercises, like rowing and cycling, which helps build their endurance over Grands Prix distances, and muscle building, which helps make them strong enough to drive Formula One cars. In addition, the top half of the driver’s body needs to be able to cope with the forces they experience when they drive; during some corners, for example, the weight of the head can multiply by four times through g-forces. For this reason, drivers focus their exercises on their necks, arms, back, and stomach.
As fit as they must be, however, Formula One drivers can’t become so obsessed with their muscles that they turn into strongmen. Their physiques must be compact so that they fit in the cockpit; in addition, too much muscle makes them too heavy to be quick.