F1 driver fitness and G-forces

[turbof1]

Uhm my bad, I forgot to point it's peak power across 15 to 30 minutes. Absolute peak power of course is much higher.

[Henk]

Just to add. If you look at the top Tour de France cyclists there are different body types. If you look at Armstrong, Evans, Contador, Quintana, Porte or Froome you will see a big difference in the shape and size of their legs and upper bodies. In cycling the internals of the body, like oxygen intake of the blood and lung capacity, are more important than the perfect shape.

That's why this comparison is not realistic. The most important thing for a racing driver is his or her skill not his or her stamina or strength. That's why the average driver probably don't have much more physical talent than the average person. So they have no specific body type or extra talent to build muscle, lose weight or take in huge amounts of oxygen.

This means that some drivers are prone to build very big and bulky muscles and others have more lean muscles. Some have to work really hard to reach the level of fitness that's required and other are well over it and do triathlons for fun. Maybe we will see some drivers struggle to be fit enough to handle a race or rest their heads like Massa always did through turn 8, but I think all drivers will be able to sustain the forces and race.

[turbof1]

Just to add. If you look at the top Tour de France cyclists there are different body types. If you look at Armstrong, Evans, Contador, Quintana, Porte or Froome you will see a big difference in the shape and size of their legs and upper bodies. In cycling the internals of the body, like oxygen intake of the blood and lung capacity, are more important than the perfect shape.

That's why this comparison is not realistic. The most important thing for a racing driver is his or her skill not his or her stamina or strength. That's why the average driver probably don't have much more physical talent than the average person. So they have no specific body type or extra talent to build muscle, lose weight or take in huge amounts of oxygen.

This means that some drivers are prone to build very big and bulky muscles and others have more lean muscles. Some have to work really hard to reach the level of fitness that's required and other are well over it and do triathlons for fun. Maybe we will see some drivers struggle to be fit enough to handle a race or rest their heads like Massa always did through turn 8, but I think all drivers will be able to sustain the forces and race.

I mostly agree, however there are 2 physical conditions for drivers beside their skill:
-A certain minimum amount of stamina and stength to cope with the G forces unhindered. Since it only requirer a certain level and not the highest level attainable, you are not seeing extreme things in this regard.
-A very low body weight since the team wants to be as much as possibly able to fill the car up with ballast up to the minimum weight.

[Cold Fussion]

Just to add. If you look at the top Tour de France cyclists there are different body types. If you look at Armstrong, Evans, Contador, Quintana, Porte or Froome you will see a big difference in the shape and size of their legs and upper bodies. In cycling the internals of the body, like oxygen intake of the blood and lung capacity, are more important than the perfect shape.

And then if you look at track cyclists you'll see they're built like brick shithouses (Robert Förstmann, Chris Hoy etc).

[Jolle]

Don't forget in "the good old days" they were braking with 100kg pressure, while "heel toe-ing", holding the non power steered wheel with one hand changing down gear while aiming for the apex. In an ill fitting seat that buckled under pressure.

The big necks were also protection for crashes, just like boxers have and sudden movements because of locking wheels or sliding rear ends.
A lot has changed.

[Henk]

I mostly agree, however there are 2 physical conditions for drivers beside their skill:
-A certain minimum amount of stamina and stength to cope with the G forces unhindered. Since it only requirer a certain level and not the highest level attainable, you are not seeing extreme things in this regard.
-A very low body weight since the team wants to be as much as possibly able to fill the car up with ballast up to the minimum weight.

I didn't want to put too much caveats in the argument. I agree and there is a certain amount of natural selection going on in the lower series that is caused by physical talent. I just wanted to make the case that appearance is not a good way to judge F1 drivers fitness, while in other sports it might make more sense.

And then if you look at track cyclists you'll see they're built like brick shithouses (Robert Förstmann, Chris Hoy etc).

I also wanted to mention Tom Dumoulin who is a time trial cyclists with quite a large upper body. He beat Froome in a heavy mountain stage in the Vuelta last year with an awesome rope a dope.

[Andres125sx]

Interesting replies, specially those from Turbo and Henk (both upvoted), thanks

So in the supposed scenario of a driver feeling dizzy you think it may be more because of reseistance than strenght

[PhillipM]

That's why the average driver probably don't have much more physical talent than the average person. So they have no specific body type or extra talent to build muscle, lose weight or take in huge amounts of oxygen.

I don't agree with that at all, these guys are training day in, day out to keep their stamina up, no matter which way you cut it, 4-5G's for 2 hours in a hot car whilst concentrating is a hard task. It may not be as physical or as hard as it used to be, but the drivers stay on top of their training to make sure they're as good at the end of that 2 hours as they are at the start. They're probably fitter than 99.9% of the population.

[turbof1]

Interesting replies, specially those from Turbo and Henk (both upvoted), thanks

So in the supposed scenario of a driver feeling dizzy you think it may be more because of reseistance than strenght

Yes. Anything that hampers getting to a comfortable level of resilliance towards the applied G forces will make you feel dizzy. That can be anything: illness, a recent concussion, or yes failing to reach the required fitness (but again, that's not necessary muscle volume).

Drivers often have issues with being dizzy when they have not experienced G forces in a few months, no matter how well they have trained. Unfortunaly G forces are difficult to simulate. The body has to be conditioned so it can adapt the senses, blood pressure, etc. You'll hear a lot about this next year during winter testing.

Just for the record: training your neck is one of the biggest requirement for fitness in F1. However, a given volume of neck muscles can be stenghtened heavily without increasing the volume. Increasing the volume can strengthen it as well (emphasis on can, as you can literally have heaps of inefficient muscle volume). They will probably have to train these muscles harder anyhow for next year.

[adrianjordan]

That's why the average driver probably don't have much more physical talent than the average person. So they have no specific body type or extra talent to build muscle, lose weight or take in huge amounts of oxygen.

No, I'm sorry, I can't accept that. All professional athletes are far, far, FAR fitter than the average person. Aside from the very definition of average making that an inevitable truth. As with all modern sports, their fitness training is so specific that they have a body shape tailored to the requirements of the sport. But I would be very surprised if every single driver on the grid wasn't capable of running a marathon with their current level of fitness.

As for why new drivers aren't surprised by the physical demands any more. The advent of driver training programmes etc means that they are already preparing long before they actually make it to the sport....so when they arrive they are already at the required level of fitness.

[turbof1]

That's why the average driver probably don't have much more physical talent than the average person. So they have no specific body type or extra talent to build muscle, lose weight or take in huge amounts of oxygen.

No, I'm sorry, I can't accept that. All professional athletes are far, far, FAR fitter than the average person. Aside from the very definition of average making that an inevitable truth. As with all modern sports, their fitness training is so specific that they have a body shape tailored to the requirements of the sport. But I would be very surprised if every single driver on the grid wasn't capable of running a marathon with their current level of fitness.

As for why new drivers aren't surprised by the physical demands any more. The advent of driver training programmes etc means that they are already preparing long before they actually make it to the sport....so when they arrive they are already at the required level of fitness.

Note he used the word 'talent'. The best athletes have a very high natural aptitude for what they are doing. F1 drivers on average don't have any more physical potential then your average person. They are just trained more. They can run for instance triathlons, but they will always be beaten by people with a more efficient body. That's just how it is, with which genes you are born.

I remember Button making a statement about that a few years ago, where he was compared to a top triathlon athlete. Button was able to match the average power output, but he spend 33% more energy on it.

[godlameroso]

He(Button) had a significantly faster reaction time than the professional athletes.

[turbof1]

He(Button) had a significantly faster reaction time than the professional athletes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuiksOOby6s

In the case you were commenting on my previous post: with physical potential I did not include cognitive functions like reaction time.

The video showed perfectly what I meant: despite Button being a very fit and trained triathlete, his body does not get rid of the lactate as well as one of the Brownlees, meaning he went into anearobic state a lot more and a lot faster. That's a gap he'll never be able to close no matter what. The natural aptitude of the Brownlees for endurance is what you can call "talent".

[godlameroso]

I was just adding to your point that the sport you're in changes your body. An endurance athlete doesn't need fast reaction time relative to someone who needs centimeter precision while hurtling towards objects at 300kph.

[Felipe 92]

The video showed perfectly what I meant: despite Button being a very fit and trained triathlete, his body does not get rid of the lactate as well as one of the Brownlees, meaning he went into anearobic state a lot more and a lot faster. That's a gap he'll never be able to close no matter what. The natural aptitude of the Brownlees for endurance is what you can call "talent".

You underestimate the power of the Dark Side (doping). The most "genetically gifted" athlete (or talented as you said) will be beaten by the average person on the right stack of "supplements" (EPO, testosterone, HGH, insulin,cortisone).