Click it and Unblock the Notifications
F1 Drivers Starving Themselves To Lose Weight
Formula 1 team Toro Rosso's driver Jean-Eric Vergne has revealed that he was hospitalised after the Australian GP as a result of starving himself to lose weight.
This shocking news has brought to light a dangerous on-going problem with this season's F1 racing. The dramatic rule changes that have come into effect this year have made the cars heavier. This is due to the added weight of the electric motors and battery packs that are part of the powertrain.
Despite the weight limit having been raised by 50 kg, teams are finding it tough to attain, despite all the lightweight carbon fiber and aluminium. So, the onus of bringing down the weight has fallen on drivers.
According to experts, every extra kilo increases a lap time by 0.035 seconds. That might not sound like a lot, but this instance will clear the picture.
Vergne is 6 ft tall and weighs 69 kg, while his team-mate Daniil Kvyat weighs less than 61 kg. This means, Vergne's car would actually be 0.28 seconds slower doing a lap, which is a significant difference in a high speed motorsports event like F1.
Lighter drivers such as Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, thus have a significant advantage over larger drivers like Nico Hulkenberg, Jenson Button and Adrian Sutil.
In fact, Sutil is even said to have raced in Australia without the critical water supply, just to make his car lighter, something that was a positively dangerous thing to do.
Realising the problem being caused, teams have reportedly agreed to increase the weight limit by another 10 kg, which should hopefully be enough to accommodate heavier drivers and prevent drivers from resorting to unhealthy practices to lose weight.
DON'T MISS: FACEBOOK VIDEO OF THE DAY
Continue with Google