Barcelona, Spain — Lewis Hamilton, hungry for further victory, added a twist to his offseason preparations before embarking on his quest for a sixth Formula One World Championship.
He indulged on snack foods. Less for the taste than for the effect it would have.
Hamilton came to the track looking bigger than ever after eating a belly-full of food and then completing extra hard exercises to convert that unnecessary additional fat into muscle.
Bigger neck, upper body, and arms.
He wasn’t the only F1 driver who relaxed his diet and bulked up when a rule change eliminated the advantage of being lighter.
“Over the winter and during the break, I could eat whatever I wanted, including pancakes and Cheetos. But I stayed quite active,” Hamilton explained during preseason testing at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit. “I’ve been very clean for the past month or so. My body fat is decreasing, and you’re focusing on more efficient, defined muscles. I’m not aiming to be the Hulk. It takes time to build muscle properly, but eating larger meals has been beneficial.”
Heavier drivers had protested about earlier F1 regulations that considered the driver’s weight against the car.
The 2019 standards state that a driver’s weight will be examined separately from the car. The driver and car seat must now weigh at least 80 kilos (176 pounds). It implies teams must add ballast to the cockpit if the driver is excessively light.
The 34-year-old Hamilton, who is listed as weighing 150 pounds on the Mercedes website, said he had gained more than four pounds of muscle through various training regimens.
“I feel stronger than I have in a long time,” said Hamilton, who adopted a vegan diet two years ago. “I worked with different folks for a few days on and off to learn new techniques. I worked with a vegan trainer who has been vegan his entire life and is really fit, as well as a handful of athletes.”
Mercedes did not share the specifics of Hamilton’s training regimen, but team principal Toto Wolff stated that the star driver is “stronger than ever and in a terrific mental state; the best I have seen so far.”
Other drivers have also gained weight.
More muscle allows drivers to endure the physical demands of racing, such as dealing with the G-force exerted on them when they navigate into hairpin corners at breakneck speeds.
Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton’s teammate, trained in the freezing north of his home Finland, combining cross-country skiing and other outdoor activities with in-the-gym sessions. They even featured neck-strengthening workouts that saw him doing sit-ups sideways while wearing a racing helmet.
Bottas praised the regulation change, claiming it helps race drivers’ general health.
