Nick Heidfeld, already one of the two lightest men on the Formula One grid, lost a full 2.5 kilograms ahead of the 2009 season. The diminutive BMW Sauber driver, who topped the timesheets at the end of the first day of Barcelona testing on Monday, now tips the scales at 58 kilos, Germany's Bild newspaper reports. Ferrari's Felipe Massa is also believed to weigh 58kg, with the pair set to benefit most from the introduction of heavy KERS systems this year. "Never in my life had I counted calories. I would not have thought I had anything to lose," Heidfeld said. "But this winter I paid attention to taking in less carbohydrates and fat and I trained harder than I ever have before," the 31-year-old added. Seriously...less than 60 kgs for men? They're prolly the 2 lightest men in the sporting arena.
It all depends on how tall these guys are. I know Felipe has got to be like 5ft 6 inch, so 58kg is not all that bad.
Quick Nick is only just over 5'4". I had no idea he was that short until I looked it up. He always seemed 5'10"ish on TV but now that I look at it... http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41971000/jpg/_41971494_podium416.jpg http://germancarscene.com/wp-content/uploads/nick-heidfeld-bmw-hp2-megamoto-10-5-08.jpg
considering their height it's nothing remarkable at all. I know plenty of guys under 5'7 who are in great shape and are just naturally light, weight between 130-140lbs. Nick is only 5'4 (at least according to he previous post) so 58 Kilos seems just fine for someone who's in shape.
Hey Gang, I'm an F1 marshal who used to work the pits at the US race before it was pulled. These drivers are incredibly fit - and they are the size of American middle-schoolers (without the fat)! They're tiny guys with powerful arms and legs.
These guys are jockey size, it doesn't really show in the pics. No wonder drivers like Wurz had a tough time even when getting in the car or Justin Wilson's head was always sticking up the roll bar Why not just increase the total car+driver weight limit to fit normal people and still be efficient in weight allocation? "Tall/heavy" drivers (i.e Button, Coulthard, Weber) in the current cars are at a clear disadvantage. KERS has made this problem even worse.
That's about my size. When I was racing karts I was 130lbs and I'm just over 5'8". But, I've only got about a 27-28" waist with (at that time) about a 38" chest. I remember when I was getting my "seat" fitting at Jim Russell in England back in the 80s there were some engineers from some of the pro formula ford teams hanging around and chatting with the Russell mechanics. When I got in they just about wet their pants. "Oh, we could put that there right by your right hip, or this behind the seat, and we could ballast up over there and here..." I also remember sitting in just about any formula car and feeling quite comfortable. No issues on being cramped and could take a nap if needed while still being strapped in. The engineers designing those cars had a size of driver in mind and it seemed smaller was indeed better.
It's not weight allocation that makes the cockpit so small. It's aerodynamics. The narrower you can make the body of a car the easier time it's got moving through the air. So, the smaller the driver the smaller you can make the car. Hire two small drivers, well you can then make the car to the minimum requirements. Some sports favor those whore naturally large, like American football. Some it doesnt really matter, European football. And some it favors someone whos smaller, gymnastics, auto racing, horseracing. You dont penalize larger players for being naturally large in American football why should you penalize a smaller driver in auto racing by taking away a natural advantage with more rules?
I'm 5'6" and when i was at my "fighting weight" I was around 140-145 lbs. I won't say what I weigh now
My view is actually different at 1.86m and 75 kgs at the time. While racing karts my chasis was a handful to set up and I did not fit comfortably in most open wheel cars I raced/drove (Formula Renault, F3 reynard). On the other hand I had an old F Ford (used for training/lapping) and I fitted in there comfortably without a problem. I don't think F1 is the same when it comes to football (American) or other sports. In cars regulations apply for all sorts of parts (wheel base, wings, side pods, etc) that make a bigger difference and I see no reason why the FIA cannot simply increase the weight limit and/or even make a slightly bigger cockpit. IMO it's ridiculous that a 60kg driver needs to slim down. It seems that cart/IRL and other series do not have this kind of strict limitations. Lighter/smaller drivers will always have an advantage as the extra weight is placed around the car to improve balance and handling. F1 cars in the 80's were even worse in terms of cockpit size when the driver's legs were infront of the front wheel axel. Regulations changed this.
In IRL you could have someone like Danica that barely squeaks in at 100 pounds and you probably have some bigger drivers closer to 150+. That is a big difference!
Well, i'm 5'5...and i'm not as fit at these guys, but i'm 71 kgs, i checked yesterday. I play badminton once a week, futsal once a week, and hit the gym 3 times a week. But 58 kgs? thats just madness...thats how much i bench press!
My height is 5 11, I weigh 170 lb and I am 8 percent body fat. So I am too heavy and tall for a kart. This is my disadvantage when I race karts.
58 kgs is not madness, these guys are like 5-6 percent body fat . If they were what you call skinny fat people then its unhealthy.
I'm 5'5", and work out regularly, follow a strict diet, etc. I weigh 130#, but do not consider myself skinny. When I race karts, I always seem to have an advantage over the big guys. That's just the way racing is... I feel no more guilty about this than the big guys feel in sports which favor big size. By the way, I just turned 44. John
I race karts semi pro and am one of the smaller guys..5'8" 147lbs...i planned on paking on like 20 lbs of muscleWOuld this ruin my open-wheel career?
