F1 drivers are some of the fittest athletes in the world and go through rigorous training before suiting up for a car. A part they particularly focus on is the neck, and Carlos Sainz showed just how hard they train those muscles. This was when his team principal Fred Vasseur decided to play a prank on him on his birthday.
Sainz was blowing the candles on his birthday cake, when Vasseur decided to be cheeky. He pushed the Ferrari driver on the neck, hoping to smash his face into the cake. Sainz’s neck, however, was too strong compared to his boss’ feeble attempt.
The video of this was shared on Instagram by Racefeeling, and it seems as though fans share the same thoughts. The majority of the people were baffled at how the Frenchman thought it would be a good idea to push the neck of an F1 driver. On top of that, F1 drivers also train their reflexes a lot. They need to avoid accidents on the track and also make race-winning maneuvers. For that, they need solid reaction time.
Carlos Sainz too was surprised, as proved by his reaction. It is safe to say that F1 drivers’ necks deal with a lot worse than pushes from Fred Vasseur.
Why do F1 drivers train their necks so hard?
An athlete trains every part of their body, putting particular focus on the muscles and areas that require the most use in their particular discipline. F1 drivers work a lot on endurance, but they need to do heavy weight training on their necks.
This is because F1 drivers are subject to heavy G-Force when they are driving. This could be during acceleration or braking when the g-force can be more than 4 to 5 G. On the other hand, an unfortunate crash or a big impact can take it to above 100 G.
If the neck muscles aren’t strong, drivers could suffer accidents that could prove to be fatal. This is why we see F1 drivers attach ungodly weights to their necks and rigorously train them ahead of every season – and sometimes in the middle of the season.
