- Taller F1 drivers must strike a balance between being strong enough and light enough to reach max speeds.
- Alex Albon and his trainer spoke with Insider about what it takes to get through a season.
- Even drivers not as tall as Albon face challenges of making weight and remaining competitive.
You could be the greatest race car driver in the world, but you will never make it in Formula One if you aren't the right size and weight.
Too tall or too big, and you simply won't fit in the undersized cockpits. Too heavy, and you slow the car down. Too light, and the team has to add weight to the cockpit to make the minimum,
and you might not be strong enough to endure the grueling nature of 90 minutes in an overheated car while experiencing extreme G-forces.
Insider spoke with Williams F1 driver Alex Albon and his trainer about the challenges drivers face to keep their weight at the optimum level for going fast, especially for taller drivers.
Now, to be clear: When talking about "taller" in F1, we don't mean the 6-foot-6 or 6-foot-8 athletes you'll find in other sports. Albon stands 6-foot-2 and is considered taller than ideal.
"In our sport, being taller only hinders you," Albon told Insider. "These cars are built to be as compact as possible. The cars are designed not for 6-foot-2 athletes.
They're designed for 5-foot-7, 5-foot-8 preferably. [Those drivers] fit much better in the car right now. [Taller drivers are] kind of arched over. Your knees are touching the top of the car. Your hands are in the way of your feet.
"So, it's all tricky. You get put in a position that's, to be honest, very uncomfortable."
The tougher challenge is the weight
According to Albon, he's used to shoving his long frame into the tiny cockpit; it's something he has done since he was 16 when he started his open-wheel racing career in Formula 4 in 2012. However, the more formidable challenge is managing the weight of being taller.
F1 recently changed the minimum weight for drivers to 80 kg (176 pounds), including what they wear. The gear and equipment on the driver during a race weigh approximately seven kilos (15 pounds).
That means the drivers' actual minimum weight is 73 kilos (161 pounds).
Carrying extra weight, of course, slows the car down, so teams want their drivers as light as possible. That means the drivers are pushed to land at or below the 161-pound minimum (if they go under, ballasts are added to the cockpit to reach the minimum).
The challenge for taller drivers to land exactly at 73 kilos comes in two phases.
The challenge for taller drivers to land exactly at 73 kilos comes in two phases.
The first phase — the off-season, when they have the most time to build their strength for the season According to McLaren Racing driver Daniel Ricciardo, there is constant training in the off-season when most fans might think the drivers are vacationing.
The second phase — is during the season when there is less time for training and more emphasis on recovery and maintaining strength After a race, Ricciardo will rest and recover on Mondays, maybe do some light cycling on Tuesday, a little bit of core and neck strength on Wednesday, and then Thursday, it is back on track. According to McLaren Racing driver Daniel Ricciardo, there is constant training in the off-season when most fans might think the drivers are vacationing.