DON’T FLAG IN FITNESS RACE
EXCLUSIVE
NEIL MOXLEY
FORMULA One drivers share a lot of the same athletic characteristics as mixed martial arts fighters, according to sports scientist Jack Wilson.
And after an hour working my socks off in a variety of agility, strength and conditioning tests I’m inclined to believe him.
So, if your idea of a driver is James Hunt – a slug of whisky and a crafty cigarette before putting on your overalls – think again.
Names are confidential inside Porsche’s highperformance centre at Silverstone, but it’s clear I’m treading in the footsteps of Lewis Hamilton, George Russell & Co.
Only they spend all day completing the exercises.
It’s a small room, but within those walls you find out so much about yourself – and these scientists must. After all, milliseconds matter.
“Why wouldn’t you apply the same logic to the drivers as to the cars?” asks Wilson.
“Mechanics spend days, weeks and months refining every inch of their machines. Why wouldn’t you optimise the human element?”
Perhaps you wouldn’t start with someone whose body fat is, well, sadly, I misplaced that vital statistic. Suffice to say it’s above the five to six per cent Mercedes star Russell supposedly boasts. But it’s not all about nutrition and fitness. If your reaction times are sluggish, you can be beaten when those lights turn green.
A wall test – set up like an arcade game where you push buttons that light up as quickly as you can – measures that ability.
A leather head brace is used to measure neck strength. I think I’m doing well, withstanding 3.5G of force. Wilson tells me when Max Verstappen was shunted into at Copse Corner by Hamilton last year, he slammed into the tyre wall at approaching 20 times that figure.
Finally, I’m into the heat chamber where there is another treadmill.
Imagine running in a sauna. Kids, don’t try that at home. Or anywhere.
My results are given to me, along with a sweat test. Drivers can lose more than 5kg in fluids in a race. Dehydration in any athlete causes mistakes and at 180mph you don’t want any of those.
Chris Harris, from Precision Fuel and Hydration, tells me I don’t sweat much. I joke I’m officially a cool guy.
“No,” he replies, “you just don’t sweat much.”
Thanks to the appliance of science drivers really are up to speed when they get into the cockpit.
As for me, I’m going home to get on that treadmill – with a far greater understanding that these racers really are athletes.