Physiological and health demands of Formula 1 motor racing: a comprehensive review with driver performance coach insight

There is a need to better understand the specific demands and characteristics of Formula 1 (eg, high accelerations/decelerations, environmental stress) to optimise driver performance and health; however, data are scarce and much of the knowledge is held within the sport by the teams, drivers and the drivers' Performance Coaches. This review combined all relevant published research data available for motor car drivers (considering what is known regarding the neuromuscular and strength characteristics (6 articles), and the metabolic, cardiovascular and thermoregulatory responses (19 articles)) with novel data collected using structured interviews with three elite Formula 1 Performance Coaches. The limited data suggest that Formula 1 drivers are not especially exceptional when it comes to aerobic fitness, stature or body mass, but there are some sport-specific adaptations, most notably augmented neck strength. Short-term and long-term interventions are routinely undertaken to minimise the risks associated with the g-forces (eg, neck strength straining) and thermal stress (eg, heat acclimation, precooling and per-cooling) experienced, but much of these strategies are based on experience and anecdotal evidence rather than data. The Performance Coaches highlighted discrepancies between the published data and their applied practice and provided insight on several aspects related to driver health and performance, including the greatest stressors and how drivers prepare for g-forces, heat, jetlag, travel and nutritional constraints. The Performance Coaches also identified key areas that should be further addressed in future studies related to maintaining driver health (eg, the unknown impact of porpoising on lower back injury risk).