How fit are Formula 1 drivers compared to other elite athletes?

F1 performance coach Eliot Challifour explains why, even though he sits for a living, Lewis Hamilton's fitness is up there with Chris Froome and Mo Farah's.

Photo: Octane Photography

Whether it's a turbocharged V6 engine or the latest carbon-fibre chassis, Formula 1 is a sport where innovation and technological advances are king.

But while the power, muscle and endurance of F1 cars is renowned, the power, muscle and endurance of those behind the wheel is often overlooked - certainly in comparison to other elite athletes.

If you were to list the top five fittest athletes in the world, names such as Mo Farah, Rafael Nadal, Cristiano Ronaldo, Chris Froome and LeBron James would more than likely be on it. It wouldn't be a surprise, however, if Lewis Hamilton was overlooked.

Because his success is ultimately reliant on the super machine at his fingertips, there is probably a perception that the physical requirements placed on him are less than on those who run, hit, kick, dunk and cycle.

The reality is very different.

My Top 10 F1 Drivers of 2018: The Rest…

Here are my views on those F1 drivers from 2018 who didn't make my top 10 ranking from a few days ago. If you're interested, you can read the top 10 here.

Photo: Octane Photography

Going through the 'other 10' in final drivers' table order brings us first to Sergio Perez, for whom 2018 was more of the same – for good and ill. He racked up plenty of points plus in the way that apparently only he can bagged a podium finish when the very rare opportunity offered itself. Yet Perez couldn't alter his long-time predicament of lingering in the middle ground between being a good midfielder (with money) and a talent that a top team will covet. It didn't help that, while there as ever wasn't much in it, his Force India team-mate Esteban Ocon had the pace edge for the most part. Nor did his hooligan performance in Singapore, first showing not much effort to avoid a collision with Ocon then – far worse – having a rage swipe at Sergey Sirotkin.

Kevin Magnussen's season was rather a breakthrough. With him at last getting the many benefits of a second season in a race seat, the results flowed particularly in the early part of the campaign. He didn't always string things together though, and more broadly once team-mate Romain Grosjean sorted himself out Magnussen tended to be the second Haas. He also gave more evidence to sustain his enfant terrible image – the criticisms can be excessive but still his move on Pierre Gasly in Baku then on Charles Leclerc at Suzuka were hard to defend. He sometimes gives the impression of revelling in the status but equally it may become a burden.

Inside Line F1 Podcast - What Year Will Alonso Be Back In F1?

Will Fernando Alonso give us a chance to miss him? What year could Alonso be back in Formula 1 - 2020, 2021 or 2022? Also, more than what year, it will also be a question of with which team. We certainly don't think it would be Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull.

Photo: Octane Photography

In this week's episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Mithila and Kunal wonder if Alonso's exit would see a mass exodus of fans from Formula 1 - that's exactly what happened when Michael Schumacher quit. History and statistics tell us why Stoffel Vandoorne can be a Formula E Champion. We offer Racing Point creative ways to announce their signing of Lance Stroll. Did Ferrari back the wrong driver in 2018? Forget a fast car, Renault better have a witty social media team for Daniel Ricciardo. And finally, was Lewis Hamilton's 'shirtey' moment a lame attempt to give us something more than Ricciardo's 'shoey'? Tune in!

(Season 2018, Episode 39)
Subscribe to the Inside Line F1 Podcast on iTunes and on audioBoom (RSS feed) for your weekly dose of Formula 1 humour

Here is what's in store for you this week:

0:00-3:00: Did ALO take a legion of fans away from Formula 1 like MSC did?

3:00-6:00: Will ALO let us miss him in Formula 1? How soon before ALO is back - 2020, 2021 or 2022?

6:00-9:00: History tells us why VAN can be a Formula E champion and can we get started with McLaren-One Plus jokes already?

9:00-12:00: We offer Force India creative ways to announce their signing of Lance Stroll

12:00-15:00: Did Ferrari back the wrong driver in 2018? What if KUB still has it in him?

15:00-18:00: Mercedes win the Esports Championship too. They are the chosen ones this year. Forget a shoey, HAM did a shirt-y!

18:00-21:00: PER has been Force India's saviour in every way this year. Red Bull's discarded drivers coming to to the team’s rescue. But do they really have a future in Formula 1?

21:00-25:00: RIC's Mercedes promotion. No one saw it coming! Mithila's 'What Wolff Said This Week' section.

25:00: Moments in Time with Lucien and the end!

Abu Dhabi Preview - The sun goes down

So the sun goes down on another F1 campaign. And providing the visual metaphor, the season-closing round is the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. F1's only day-to-night event.

In an appropriate place, the sun goes
down on another F1 season
Photo: Octane Photography

The sunset on this 2018 season has been slow, and we enter this finale with remarkably little at stake. Both titles are decided of course, but even further down the tables there is meagre potential for change at the last.

Underlining the point the most conspicuous bone of contention at the Yas Marina track this weekend is that Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen are separated by three points in the 'battle' for fourth in the drivers' standings. Either theoretically could leapfrog Kimi Raikkonen for third as well - Bottas is 14 points behind and Verstappen 17 - though that outcome will likely require a no-score for Raikkonen.

Even in the all-important constructors' order - all-important as that's what they base the money on - just about all teams look well ensconced in their places. The most likely shift is that a good weekend for Sauber - and it looked quick in Brazil - combined with a meagre one for Force India may allow the Swiss team to vault over the six-point gap between them. Conversely a sixth and seventh place for Force India combined with no McLaren points will get Force India up a place.

Mexican GP Report - Doing it all over again

And so it is now done. As always seems the way when Lewis Hamilton has a title to claim, things in this Mexican Grand Prix weren't entirely straightforward. But fortunately for him he was by now in a place where he almost couldn't lose. In fact as it turned out he literally couldn't lose as his pursuer Sebastian Vettel didn't get the race win he needed to have a chance of keeping the title open. But whatever was the case in this one, using the worn phrase, 'the history books will show' that Hamilton's fifth world championship is unequivocal. Level with Juan Manuel Fangio and only Michael Schumacher ahead. For all that it has long seemed inevitable, and the conclusion inaptly messy, the magnitude of the achievement should not be understated.

Lewis Hamilton sealed his fifth title -
though it was not straightforward
Photo: Octane Photography

The 2018 championship fight has had plenty of parallels with that 12 months previously and it continued that way in its conclusion. Again it was resolved in Mexico. Again Hamilton did just about enough. Again his chaser Vettel battled hard but did not quite get the result he needed. As again the deciding race was dominated by Red Bull. Or rather, again, by Max Verstappen's Red Bull.

He was the fastest out there all weekend, his only partial stumble missing out on pole position at the last against expectations, to his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo – Verstappen complained afterwards about excessive engine braking. Whatever he swiftly righted things with a better start to lead. And was never seen again.

Inside Line F1 Podcast - Mick Schumacher To Join Red Bull Junior Program?

Helmut Marko has denied being in talks with Mick Schumacher to join the Red Bull Junior Driver program. Could this actually be a hint that Red Bull are already in talks with the young Schumacher? There's going to be a race to sign him - who will win this one?

In this week’s episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, we have Ashley give us a brief summary of the Singapore Grand Prix and her experiences from the Marina Bay Circuit. Also, we discuss the ‘mini race’ in Miami, how Ferrari may have beaten Red Bull and Mercedes to the ‘junior driver’ game, if Formula E is already using the ‘concept 3’ Formula 1 car and if a certain Flavio could be the ambassador for Formula 1’s newly announced betting partnership. Tune in!

Here's what is in store for you this week:

2:00-5:00 - HAM seeking a new challenger in his title battle, LEC could be one?

5:00-8:00 - RBR has seats, but no drivers. Mercedes have drivers, but no seats. Can RBR give KUB’s Formula 1 dreams wings?

8:00-10:00 - Ferrari ahead of the ‘junior driver’ game. We tell you WHY RBR could be talking to Mick Schumacher…

10:00-13:00 - Todt vs. Brawn when it comes to new teams joining Formula 1? And of course, a ‘universal engine’ for Motorsport? Btw, Todt said ’23 Grands Prix’ calendar, yay or nay?

13:00-15:00 - Just how many manufacturers has ALO pissed off? IndyCar vs. Formula 1 at COTA in 2019

15:00-17:00 - Formula E using Formula 1’s Concept-3 already?

17:00-20:00 - Let’s make VAN have some fun; c’mon. Hats off to SIR - fantastic defences in Singapore!

20:00-23:00 - Are RBR and VER talking down Renault way too much? Did you know that VJM is RT’ing Force India’s tweets? Miami to host a ‘mini race’; what does that even mean? Turkey to make a comeback?

25:00-28:00 - What Wolff Said This Week section

28:00-end - Flavio to be the ambassador for Formula 1 Betting?

(Season 2018, Episode 32)

Subscribe to the Inside Line F1 Podcast on iTunes and on audioBoom (RSS feed) for your weekly dose of Formula 1 humour

Singapore GP Betting Preview - Red devil?

You'll likely have seen those cartoons that feature the shoulder angel and shoulder devil. Where they pop up in turn on the protagonist's respective shoulders - the angel imploring the said protagonist to stay on the right track; the devil trying to lead them astray. For the Singapore round this weekend, who prevails will likely be a matter of angel Ferrari versus devil Ferrari.

Which way will Ferrari's Singapore weekend go?
Photo: Octane Photography

Ferrari should win in Singapore. It's pretty persistently had the quickest car in various circumstances recently, plus for its chief rival Mercedes this one self-admittedly is a bogey circuit - a point backed up by history.

But as we know things have had a maddening tendency to not be nearly so simple. Ferrari's had a habit of falling into mantraps - sometimes mantraps it's set itself. And this venue has more mantraps set than most - a Monaco for the new millennium with added stamina required. Two hours in intense humidity with constant acrobatic turns and near at hand walls to punish even small errors.

Still Sebastian Vettel to take pole and win seems a reasonable starting point of our expectations this weekend, and you can back him at evens to prevail on Saturday and at 11/8 to do so on Sunday. Seb's a local specialist as well and has won here four times and taken the same number of poles.

Hungarian GP Report - Lightening strikes twice

In a season of often inexplicable twists and turns, this one in Hungary was instead an case of history repeating. Appropriately for 2018, the lightening hitting the precise same spots as in Germany a week ago was in itself highly uncanny.

Lewis Hamilton took his second unlikely win in a row
Photo: Octane Photography

Just like then Mercedes and particularly Lewis Hamilton at the Hungaroring looked out of it. Just like then Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari looked poised to make a major gain in the championship. Just like then rain then arrived and tilted things decisively towards Hamilton, who against expectations made the sizeable points gain instead. Only this time the rain arrived in qualifying.

A few sniggered behind their palms when Hamilton hinted at divine intervention after the elements came to his aid in Germany. But with them now doing that right on cue for two rounds now on the spin, it may as well have been have been a matter of someone consciously guiding events his way.

Qualifying order means a lot in F1 of course, and it has long meant a lot at the tight and sinewy Hungaroring. Sure enough leading from the race's off formed the basis of Hamilton's latest victory - but his performance on Sunday and particularly Saturday was highly impressive even so.

Inside Line F1 Podcast - Points For Everyone? Please, No, F1

The 'points for all' topic is disturbing. No, please don't go down this road, Formula 1. We've gone from awarding points to top-6 to top-8 and now 50% of the grid (top-10) scores points. By increasing the base of points scorers to 100% (all-20), we will go from incentivising drivers to win or finish higher to simply just finishing races. Is this Formula 1's way of retaining Fernando Alonso?

In this week's episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, the 'What Wolff Said This Week' section is hilarious, because Toto Wolff did have a lot to say in the 2018 British Grand Prix. We discuss if Mercedes and Haas can learn a thing of two from Force India, the epic (and rare!) Kimi Raikkonen vs. Max Verstappen battle, the creative use of DRS by the FIA and how we shouldn't be harsh in judging Stoffel Vandoorne's talent just yet. Also, we explain why the talk of Mercedes being inexperienced to handle fierce external competition is untrue. Tune in!

(Season 2018, Episode 22)

Inside Line F1 Podcast on iTunes and on audioBoom (RSS feed) for your weekly dose of Formula 1 humour

Azerbaijan GP Report - Baku pain

Baku eventually did its worst. A Lewis Hamilton victory really shouldn't seem incongruous - even with Mercedes incongruously going three rounds without a win - but that it did says a lot about this latest Azerbaijan Grand Prix. "Lady luck was on our side," as Lewis's engineer said in summing up. But this race takes a lot of summing up.

Lewis Hamilton incongruously came thorough to win
Photo: Pirelli Media

A lot like the Chinese Grand Prix last time out this one swung. As in China Sebastian Vettel appeared initially to have the race well under control out front with a drive redolent of his Red Bull pomp, including clearing the chasing Lewis by three seconds in the first lap of green flag racing.

From then it was nip and tuck for a while, and it appeared Lewis was the one to blink. On lap 22 he locked up egregiously and went down the turn 1 escape road then pitted immediately due to his flat-spots. It was another one-stopper as a default, and the new tyre effect on the soft compound wasn't up to much. Seb pitted himself nine laps later to stay ahead of Lewis comfortably, but in that seemingly inoffensive move he lost the race.

Australian GP Report - Who's smiling now?

For all that much is new in contemporary F1, the pecking order in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne's Albert Park looked terribly familiar. The grand reveal of the first qualifying session confirmed the efficacy of the pre-season testing grapevine. We had a tight midfield with Haas heading it. Ferrari and Red Bull close to each other. Mercedes well clear. There was a hiccup - Valtteri Bottas binned it in qualifying and started 15th. Yet Lewis Hamilton stunned all with his final effort and was nine tenths clear on pole.

Sebastian Vettel took a surprise Australian Grand Prix
win, and smiles were reversed
Photo: Octane Photography

There was much talk of a special Mercedes 'party mode' for the last of quali, denied by all in the silver camp. And when jibed by his rival Sebastian Vettel on the subject Lewis retorted that his late boost instead was the desire to "wipe the smile off your face".

"I think what goes around comes around," Seb rejoined. "He's free to have a party tonight and then hopefully Kimi [Raikkonen] and myself will have a party tomorrow."

It seems he's as good a mystic as racing driver.

Come the race things initially were in a similar vein to qualifying however. Lewis didn't run away from the Ferrari pair next up but looked undeniably comfortable. As for Vettel, he wasn't even the fastest Ferrari as Kimi set the Scuderia pace. In that familiar way it was all rather follow my leader too.

F1 2018 Season Preview: McLaren - I am curious, orange

We thought it so simple. Ditch the dread Honda power unit for anything else you could find and it would all be rosy. Yet with McLaren for the nth season in a row we enter a F1 season with more questions around than answers.

Photo: Octane Photography

Pre-season testing provided evidence of what some had suspected over the last three trying seasons - that far from all of McLaren's problems had been Honda ones. The now Renault-powered car completed the fewest laps of all in Barcelona; running forever was interrupted by a variety of technical problems. Some by the team's admission were mere finger trouble. A wheel falling off the car in testing's early throes provided an unwelcome visual metaphor.

It is said the car is ultra complicated under the skin, and the implications included that problems take a long time to resolve - for example an engine change is reckoned to take at best three hours rather than the standard sub-two. Pitstop practices in Barcelona were chaotic.

A few wondered also why McLaren, almost alone, used the softest tyre compounds as a default. McLaren racing director Eric Boullier insisted there were "technical reasons" and there wasn't much pace difference between the compounds in any case. On the hyper-softs McLaren set a late and low laptime. It didn't convince too many though.

My Top 10 F1 Drivers of 2017: The Rest…

Here are my views on those F1 drivers from 2017 who didn't make my top 10 ranking from a few days ago, which can be read here.

Photo: Octane Photography

The most conspicuous absence from the top ten is Kimi Raikkonen, for whom things somehow never quite came together in 2017. Frequently he looked to have pace but it tended to fall away at crucial moments, not least in the final throes of qualifying including just about every time after the summer break. In many race results too you'd look at the chasm-like gap between the Ferraris and wonder how exactly it came to that. Still pole in Monaco is a feather in the cap and with more benign team strategy he would have won twice. Also in mitigation some of Kimi's race strategies stretched credulity. Once again Sebastian Vettel couldn't live with him through Silverstone's sweeps. But even so it seems the main reason Ferrari keeps him on is that he doesn't offend Seb. On any count.

Going through the rest in the final drivers' table order brings us first to Felipe Massa, who got an unlikely second swansong this year. He started and ended the season superbly, while between times he tended to be solid. Fairly or otherwise the sense persisted though that he remained a few tenths off the ultimate pace; at the very least with a team mate struggling so obviously it was hard to judge the popular Brazilian. In the end he jumped (again) from F1 before Williams – still dithering – could push him, and as intimated he at least went out on a high.

Austin Qualifying - Making it more inevitable

If this year's title destination seemed inevitable, the Austin weekend thus far has done little to alter that status.

Lewis Hamilton made his fourth world
title even more inevitable with pole
Photo: Octane Photography

Yes one does not get rich backing against Lewis Hamilton at Austin's Circuit of the Americas. But even so the extent of his advantage stunned, not least as Mercedes on pure pace this time looked ahead too.

And Lewis, as if leaving nothing to chance on any front, has topped every Austin session. Including in qualifying.

He cruised to pole with minimal rancour, his first effort in Q3 - even with a derate - good enough by a way.

"He's moved onto a different plane since the summer," noted an observing Pat Symonds.

Malaysia GP Report - Max power

Rarely can an F1 weekend have contained so many twists. There were planety on Friday and Saturday. And the Malaysia Grand Prix's Sunday had plenty more.

Max Verstappen reminded us of his star
quality with a crushing win
Photo: Octane Photography

And quickly. The first was before the race even started, as Ferrari sank further into its recent quagmire. Kimi Raikkonen reported a power loss on the way to the dummy grid, which proved terminal. He didn't start.

But in another twist this did not give us a Lewis Hamilton benefit run. Mercedes's worries about lacking race pace were founded. Max Verstappen's Red Bull hounded leader Lewis from the off, sailed down the inside of the first turn after four laps, then left him.

On lap 12 he was five seconds up the road; on lap 18 it was nine. Almost like he was driving a Mercedes. He was never seen again.

"I think in the beginning, straight away the car felt good," said Verstappen later.

Sepang Qualifying - Taking advantage of your fortune

Lewis Hamilton bagging pole position hardly seems a surprise. This was his 70th ever, as well as his fourth in a row here. But, boy, did we have a journey getting there.

Lewis Hamilton took brought the Malaysia
weekend full circle by taking pole
Photo: Octane Photography

After his and Mercedes's dash from jail in Singapore, leaving with a 28 point championship lead, the consensus was that was that. Yet once cars started to circulate the Sepang track this weekend no one was quite as sure.

There were reasons to think in advance that Malaysia would not be a Merc cakewalk, but it was off the pace to an extent that shocked. There wasn't an obvious explanation either - nothing peculiar to short runs or to the tyres, or a lack of balance. It just lacked grip.

And Merc and Lewis's direct title rivals Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel stepped into the breach. Suddenly it threatened to be a lot like Singapore's build up - them on top and Red Bull in the mix. The third row looking possible/probable for Merc. And with it a healthy points swing was on for Seb.

Malaysia GP Betting Preview - Battle of the big three?

It's not just due to geography that the Malaysia Grand Prix this weekend feels a short hop from the previous round in Singapore. They share sapping heat, and it will be if anything more intense this time given it's run in the day time. We've seen plenty - including in Singapore - that Mercedes struggles relatively when the temperature rises.

Will the Malaysian round be a close
battle of the big three teams?
By Morio (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/
by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

And as a partial consequence this race feels a close call between the 'big three' teams.

Here two years ago Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari flat beat Lewis Hamilton Merc on tyre longevity in the tough conditions. Plus the Scuderia has an updated engine this weekend. With all this the 13/5 for Seb to win looks better value than the evens for Lewis.

Like in Singapore too Red Bull will look to this one with optimism. It looked strong in Hungary on the supersoft tyre in hot conditions and this is what it'll get here. The team of course scored a 1-2 in this race last season, albeit aided by a late engine failure for Lewis. But even so its showing was strong.

Singapore GP Report - Not drowning but waving

Motorsport, as we are often given cause to reflect, is not like other sports. Just like in those, we predict with confidence. But unlike in most of those, things can and do look unrecognisable in a blink. Things like a rain shower. A standing start. An accident.

Lewis Hamilton was an unlikely winner
Photo: Octane Photography

That's what we got in Singapore. Sebastian Vettel looked serene on pole. Granted the Red Bulls would be strong in the race, but from the championship angle his rival Lewis Hamilton was flailing down in fifth. Surely he would at least re-take his long-held drivers' title table lead. It was a matter of how far by.

It had rained earlier on race day, but it appeared it would matter not. But then more arrived around 10 minutes before the start, meaning for the first time ever we had wet night time running under floodlights in F1.

Rain is frequent in Singapore; perhaps the most remarkable thing was it had never hit running here before in ten visits. Not, that anyone could remember, so much as a practice session or support race. Until today.

Belgian GP Betting Preview - Silver into gold

As outlined in my Belgian Grand Prix preview, there are plenty of reasons to think this weekend's Spa gathering will be a Mercedes demonstration run. 70% of the Belgian lap is full throttle and there are plenty of quick turns otherwise that'll reward the silver car's long wheel base and aerodynamic efficiency. Temperatures may be cool plus the long lap (for prior to a qualifying effort) and track layout should head off its occasional tyre warm up problems.

Will there be a repeat of Silverstone at Spa?
Photo: Octane Photography

Plenty of parallels with Silverstone in other words, where the Mercs ran away. And Lewis Hamilton did so especially - he can be got at 10/11 to win this time and 7/10 to get the pole.

Still it's worth as ever considering the other Mercedes. Valtteri Bottas's odds remain generous-looking all things considered. He's 5/1 to win and 7/2 to take pole.

Only six of the last 16 Belgian Grand Prix pole-sitters have gone on to win, and it's suggested that with the long run to Les Combes on lap one it's preferable to start second and get the slipstream from the pole man - you can get 9/4 on whoever starts second winning the race.

Hungarian GP Report - Vettel battens down the hatches

"Our car is not always easy to set up. We have become much better at doing so. I would like to see Budapest, how the car works with a low speed and high-track-temperatures track. Then, maybe, I will have a more complete picture."

Hungary was the scene of a red revival
Photo: Octane Photography

It took Mercedes boss Toto Wolff of all people to bring us into line in advance. After Silverstone we thought it simple. Lewis Hamilton had in a single afternoon all but wiped out Sebastian Vettel's long held title lead. Ferrari hadn't outpaced Merc since Monaco in May. Plus Hungary next up is happy hunting ground for Hamilton.

But F1, as well as rarely pure, is never simple. Wolff's words were prophetic.

Flowing Silverstone could have been designed for Merc. The Hungaroring near Budapest, as Wolff intimated, is very different. And contains many things that's given the silver car bother this year - medium speed turns, a smooth surface, scarcely a straight worthy of the name...