Too Fat & Furious for F1: Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo

TomoNews US 2015-05-13

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F1 is in the midst of waging a new war and this time it's against the waistline. Red Bull has reportedly ordered 143 pound driver Daniel Ricciardo to lose some weight for next year.

Ricciardo is one of several already skinny drivers that will need to shed some pounds due to F1 technical regulations that are going to be introduced next year. This year's V8 engines will be switched out for turbocharged V6 engines, that are heavier than the V8s because of extra hardware required by the new engines.

F1 cars need to meet a minimum weight limit. F1 teams try to meet the limit exactly, so that their vehicles are as light as possible. With the added weight from the turbocharged V6 engines, the increase in the minimum weight limit in only 50kgs. This means that the only other place teams can save on weight is their drivers.

Ricciardo is considered one of the taller drivers in F1 at 5'7" and weighs around 143 pounds. His plan is to be down to around 132 pounds by the time Red Bull starts testing its new RB10 in January. "Compared to where I am now, I need to lose a couple more kilos," Ricciardo told Brazil's Totalrace. "That's my goal."

The issue of driver weight has become more and more contentious, with taller drivers having to stay super skinny in search of some extra speed. Every extra five kilograms can cost a driver about 0.2 seconds per lap.

Maybe it's time for F1 teams to get a bit more creative with their driver choices or why not just get rid of drivers all together? Should F1 increase its weight limits?

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