“What? No way?!” – How much weight do Formula 1 drivers lose after a Grand Prix? Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton answers to Graham Bensinger.
As part of an appearance in ‘In Depth with Graham Bensinger’, Lewis Hamilton was asked about the weight changes Formula 1 drivers go through after a grueling 2 hours of racing.
In a fascinating reveal, the former McLaren and Mercedes champion takes us through how they lose weight, and more crucially, how much they lose.
Watch the video, or read through the transcript below:
How much weight do F1 drivers lose after a race?
Graham Bensinger: “What I was unaware of was how sore the driving will make your neck at times. What have you done over the years to strengthen your neck with the weight and the helmet and all that?
Lewis Hamilton: Basically, you know, most people I meet and particularly people who have just begun watching F1 or even like particularly in the States when I go and meet people and I tell them I could be losing 9-10 pounds in a race, and they are like ‘What? No way?!’
GB: You lose 9-10 pounds in a race?!
LH: Sometimes, like in Malaysia, I always lose around 10 pounds in the race. It’s bloody roasting. It’s humid, there’s no cool air coming so you’re on thermal underwear suit, gloves, balaclava helmet and it’s just like working out in a sauna. It is crazy!
There are probably three races where I lose 10, nine races – 8 pounds and others 5 pounds.
My neck, when I first got into F1.. jeez I did three days of driving and I couldn’t hold my head up halfway through the first stage. So, what you do is get a helmet and put 22 pounds on top and you lay off a table or a bench and you do multiple reps just to build your neck up so my neck grew like an inch and a half.
When I first got into F1 and since then at the end of the season, you have two months off and your neck kind of shrinks…
