Driver Fitness

[adam1312]

what level of endrance, cardiovascular fitness and strength (neck and upper body) do drivers in low level/junior formula single seaters need?

[Peat]

You don't need to be an athlete to drive a racing car, but the fitter you are the better as it free's up mental capacity to think about the driving of the car rather than 'bl00dy hell i'm knackered!'

How's the quest for F1 going adam?

[adam1312]

So why do drivers work so hard on fitness

[tristancliffe]

Because, as stated, the fitter you are the more mental capacity you have to drive rather than think "jeez, I'm tired". Obviously you need to be strong enough to hold your head up against g-forces, press the pedals and turn the (sometimes very heavy) steering, and fit enough to do that for a whole weekend without getting tired.

You don't need to be any fitter than that really unless you plan to move up the motorsport ladder.

And there is a law of diminishing returns as well. Most people are fit enough to race at club level in most cars including single seaters. Very few people are fit enough to do 2 hours in an F1 car competitively.

I'm 30, I don't go to a gym. I don't run very much. I don't watch what I eat. I don't watch my weight (as the previous statement might suggest). I don't own a rowing machine or a treadmill. I do watch films in the evening. And I do work on and run three or four racing cars. I find a weekend (with testing) in Monoposto to be fairly easy physically. F3 Cup is much harder. I may have to give up pizza. Or curry. But not both.

[Clive Brown]

Originally Posted by adam1312

So why do drivers work so hard on fitness

Because all you poor muppets have been conned into believing that it's essential. Probably the most physically demanding form of motor sport is NASCAR Sprint Cup racing; how do you fancy 500 laps of the half-mile oval at Bristol, Tennessee, for starters? Some Sprint Cup drivers (Carl Edwards, for one) do work out regularly, others (Tony Stewart), the most exercise they get is probably swinging a leg out of bed to get up in the morning.

Racing is the best way to get fit for racing, and conversely, no amount of physical jerks will compensate for a basic lack of talent behind the wheel.

Oh, and if you're not a midget in the first place, forget any kind of career in single seaters!

[GORDON STREETER]

One of the most physically demanding motorsports is Motocross at world class level. Most of the top guys over the years train on the bike as it works the places that need it.

[Clive Brown]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

One of the most physically demanding motorsports is Motocross at world class level. Most of the top guys over the years train on the bike as it works the places that need it.

Do they train on Larkins, too?

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by Clive Brown

Do they train on Larkins, too?

The boss man at the Brewery trains on it every day

[terence]

Originally Posted by Clive Brown

Because all you poor muppets have been conned into believing that it's essential. Probably the most physically demanding form of motor sport is NASCAR Sprint Cup racing; how do you fancy 500 laps of the half-mile oval at Bristol, Tennessee, for starters? Some Sprint Cup drivers (Carl Edwards, for one) do work out regularly, others (Tony Stewart), the most exercise they get is probably swinging a leg out of bed to get up in the morning.

Racing is the best way to get fit for racing, and conversely, no amount of physical jerks will compensate for a basic lack of talent behind the wheel.

Oh, and if you're not a midget in the first place, forget any kind of career in single seaters!

I'll go along with that,I like the addition of your "Physical Jerks",sum's up the bull that comes with being "fit".
[I wonder what Gerry Marshal,Tony Lanfranchi etal did to keep fit]

[JohnD]

I think it waas Schumacher who started the idea of being super-fit.
Nigel Mansell wasn't exactly a toned hunk
James Hunt never did a training run in his life, and smoked until after he stopped racing.
Jack Brabham collapsed after the 1969 US GP. He had pushed the car a quarter of a mile, but the current crop of racers give the impression that they could do that, and then run up to the podium and jump in the air.

But then think of athletes. Roger Bannister got the Four Minute Mile with the assistance of Brasher and Chataway (whose idea of training was to stop smoking the week before). He crossed the line and collapsed. The 1500meter record now is only just over three and half minutes, and runners do another lap of the stadium in victory mode! "Fitness" is not a fixed definition.

John