Max Verstappen has proved himself to be a worthy champion. And now, having had a taste of glory, surely the Dutch Lion is far from done. As another season turns its corner, Verstappen provides insight into his treacherous off-season training.
As F1 drivers, weight is an important subject. Drivers must maintain a certain weight to ensure it doesn’t hamper their speeds. Further, with teams resorting to plain back carbon fiber and screeching out paint to cut down on weight, the pressure has shifted to drivers as well.
Max Verstappen reveals painful regimen
The 25-year-old’s target weight during the season is 163 lbs. During the winter break, Verstappen rewards himself with a break and let loose a bit. Last winter, the Red bull star reveals gaining 22 lbs, forcing him to train harder as the season drew near.
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As reported by De Telegraaf, Verstappen feels like he’s lighter than his normal weight the entire year. However, he likes to give himself a month to eat and drink what he likes- a strategy not used by other drivers who like to keep their weight constant all year. For Verstappen, he’d rather not think about training for that one month; then, push hard in a short time. “I like to hurt myself a bit then”
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This has become a part of the process for the driver. Now, weight has become a sensitive topic in F1. “That car [RB19] was more overweight than the kilos I gained,” he joked. Teams have been scurrying to find solutions to reduce the weight of cars in order to gain an advantage.
With so many restrictions in other aspects, this is the one thing the teams can fully control.
Red Bull on a diet
While Max Verstappen worked hard to shed some pounds during the winter, his new beauty, the RB19, did too. The primary problem with the RB18 was that it was too heavy, yet it won both championships. Because the team already had solutions to this problem, it was easy to reduce the weight of the new juggernaut.
Ready to unleash the RB19 💙❤️ #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/TX9oMf6OON
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) February 23, 2023
At the beginning of the year, the car was already at minimum weight. So now, the team has other avenues to explore to make their car go faster. Verstappen confirmed, “ I don’t think it will be more difficult in terms of further development, because we are already doing a lot of things around it as well.”
Already a beast on the tarmac, the RB19 is still a work in progress. Things are going to get dangerously difficult for Ferrari and whoever dares to face the raging Bulls.
