Incredible Hulk ready for the F1 wrestle
New regulations make for faster cars and drivers will need to be bigger, stronger
Renault driver Niko Hulkenberg has the kind of name that sounds like big could be his thing.
In Formula One seasons past, muscle bulk hasn’t really been the key requirement for drivers, with work on endurance being the focus of training in the gym. The new regulations in F1 have made the cars bigger and faster, prefacing an era that has the drivers and fans more excited than usual, and so the pilots have to follow suit.
“The cars are like driving a very fast and spectacular roller- coaster and it’s a lot more demanding than before,” German driver Hulkenberg said ahead of the season- opening Australian Grand Prix. “Now you have to wrestle these cars.
“The t yres allow you to push harder every lap, so you can exploit and be on the limit. It’s a lot more work and a lot more demanding. There’s a lot that’s new, but the game is still the same.”
Briton Lewis Hamilton has worked out the game, winning three drivers’ titles, so he’s more than ready to up the ante.
“As racing drivers in general you want to drive the quickest cars in the world and I think you always want to go faster,” the Mercedes driver said. “The cars are faster than what they were last year. The challenge of exploiting that speed with your car on the track is a great challenge and it’s more in the direction of how F1 should be in the sense of the physicality side of it.”
Hamilton, who won back- to- back titles with Mercedes in 2014 and ’ 15 and narrowly missed out to teammate Nico Rosberg last season, considers himself as much an athlete as a driver.
“Formula One should be the most physically demanding sport in terms of all the driving series,” he said. “In previous years that hasn’t been the case — it hasn’t been to the level that we train to, is relatively easy for us to do — now you have to really push the boundaries, which I like.”
The F1 rule changes means wider tyres, greater aerodynamics, bigger fuel loads and increased downforce, which have made the cars heavier but also significantly faster.
The tyres, which are 25 per cent wider, have more grip and are more durable, enabling drivers to push harder through the corners.
Even though Mercedes dominated under the previous regulations, Hamilton was an advocate for changes. 58. 5.303km. 307.574km. 1min24.125sec ( Michael Schumacher, 2004). Practice session three and qualifying.
“Doing drastic changes kind of spices it up,” he said. “I have never seen the fans so excited about a season as they are this season . . . we don’t know where the cars and teams are, so more of these kind of experiences would be welcome.”
Toto Wolff, the head of MercedesBenz Motorsport, said Hamilton and his teammate Valterri Bottas were in prime shape to make the most of the changes.
“It’s an exciting time for them because these new cars are a real physical challenge,” he said. “Both felt from testing that the G- forces are enormous and they are embracing the new challenge.”
Four- time world champion Sebastian Vettel expects his 2017- edition Ferrari to be the fastest car he’s driven.
“For us, what really gives us a good feeling is cornering speed — I think we’re back to the level we’ve been 10 years ago, maybe a bit faster,” he said. Vettel is among the drivers who have been working on neck and shoulder strength in particular, to handle the extra load.
Hamilton i s living up to his billing as Formula One’s pacesetter but the challengers are coming.
Hamilton clocked quickest times in the opening practice sessions yesterday though Ferrari drivers and Australian Daniel Ricciardo loomed in his rear view mirror.
Hamilton, a day after telling of his wish for rivals to offer him stiffer challenges, clocked a best lap in the second practice session of one minute 23.620 seconds.
That time was about 15 seconds faster than his quickest lap in the corresponding session last year in Melbourne as the new breed of F1 cars produced markedly faster times.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull Racing’s Ricciardo were among others reaping early rewards from rule changes for the fresh season.
Hamilton’s best lap in the second session was 0.547s quicker than Vettel with Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas third- quickest, followed by Raikkonen and local hope Ricciardo.