F1 Racing - UK (2019-12)

PRO

RACING

02 Nutrition

Nutritioniscriticalforeveryone– particularly

athletes – because, if you’re notfuelled in theright way,

it affectsevery thing fromyour moodto your concentration

and decision making.Nutrition is the glue that holds

everything together for human performance, including

mental skills development and physical activitiestoo.

I’ve noticed,especially through working with junior

drivers, howthey strugglein the afternoon by having

that lullwe all experience when blood sugar levels drop

and fatigue starts to kick in. There are ways to deal with

that, so that’s whywe have such aset routi ne to avoidit.

Whether it’s anengineeringmeeting or a session,I alwa ys

make sure Nico[Hülkenberg]is in hisoptimal condition.

We have to approach thatdifferently each day to balance

his nutrition needsfor the race asopposed to qualifying.

In terms of diet, weight is important, andespeciall y

with Nico becausehe’s on t he limit height-wise.We’re

talki ng just a kiloor two,and since all ourweight s

fluctuate,even after one‘cheat’ meal, that can be an extra

kilo the next day.But he’s very lean, sohe’s not carrying

much body fat.

With back-to-back races,Mondayor Tuesdayis the

window forhim to have a bit of a break, butit has to be

within parameters. Fluctuating weight isn’tideal for the

way the bodyreleases energy, so consist ency iskey. That

may seem aboringthing to say if you wantto hear about

dynamic, innovative,secret ways we arefuelling these

guys to give them this magic power. Really it’scommon

sense, combinedwith a bit of knowledge andplanni ng.

It is important for Nicoto have a good balanceof

carbohydrates andproteins – not too muchof one or the

other. It should beslightly more protein-based,but then

we do decrease that a littlebit towardsSunday. That’s

where the carb ohydratesare really important forhim.

The rest of the week Nico willhave foodsI kno w he

digests well, which don’t make him feel uncomfortable

and don’tupset his digestive system. Andfoods that make

him happy – that’s important. There’sno pointin me

tryingto give himmeals he’snotgoing to enjoy. Nico loves

pasta and fish, sothese are the things we fo cus on.

We alsodo metabolictesting. It’s one thingto

understand what he likesbut it’s another to see the

evidence of that diet onhis performance, beitin training

or in the car. We’vealso donespecific scientificwork to

find out what’shappeninginside his body, sothen we’re

able to maketweaks to what is already a healthy lifestyle.

As we ramp uptowards getting into thecar, you no tice

some driver s might have an espresso. I don’t know if he

does it onevery occasion, but youoften see Valtteri Bottas

with a coffee before he getsinto the car.A few years ago

I was against a caffeine injection before any session,

becausecaffe ine can giveyou a spike followed by a low.

But if you have agood toleranceto ca ffeine orany other

stimulant, it can be agood energyboost.

Nico will oftensay he likes to befuel led and have

“power” inthe car before qualifying. Hedoesn’t like to feel

low onenergy, so he likesto have something a bit higher

in carbs. Then before the race we havemore o f a balance

of carbs and proteins, which isslower releasing and keeps

him going.Then, away from food,he drinks electrolytes,

water and a combination of both throughoutthe weekend.

During therace itself he willhave a drink, but doesn’t

consume a lot, so Ineed tomake sure his hydration

levels aretoppe d up. But that top-up doesn’t just happen

before the race. Youcan’t suddenlytake a high-energy

sugar drink andbe sorted, because your body canonly

absorb at a certain rate, sotaking on fluids has to bepart

of a consistent, healthy plan. There’sno wa y to short-cut

dehydration, nutrition orfitness, becausethe body is

clever. Ittakes what it needs. If you haven’t trained your

gut or intestines to absorbmore fluid– they won’tdo it.

Nico st ays hydratedall the tim e. He drinks loads of

water and complains about it because he’s going to the

toilet a lot, but w elcometo the life of an athlete! Wateris

critic al sincejust a 2% loss equatesto about a20% loss

in concentration,but it can alsodepend on other factor s,

such as ambienttemperature.

Plus it’s important not todrin k electrolytes allthe ti me.

It needs to bethe right ratio of saltsto fl uid. If you endup

with too many salts in the bodythroughenergy drinks,

you’ll endup be ing dehydrated, with toomuch inside your

system, so youneed to diluteitthe right way.

For hotraces we will have an increase in electrolytes

becauseNico will be sweatingand losing more fluids.

Some athletes might sweatmore water thansalt, so it’s

good to understand thaton a cellular level.

We’re learning so muchabout thescience of nutrition

and how the stomach communicates with the brain

through themanyneural path ways. Most ofitisre lated to

absorption rate andhow quickly yourgut empties – but

the good news for the bodyis there aregood thingsin

most thin gs we eat, except processedfoods.

I might be on thin icehere, but even in beer– it’s good

to be able to enjoy a beeror two (post-race), anda gla ss of

red wine is reallygood for you.But it has to beat the right

time –and you do needto en sure a good balance.

WORDSJAMESROBERTS

PICTURES

F1 RACING DECEMBER 2019 31

FUELLING

AN F1 DRIVER

Nutrition and

hydration are

as vitalto the

success of

Formula 1

drivers as they

are to any

athlete. Nico

Hülkenberg’s

trainerMartin

Pooleexplains

how optimal

diet yields

maximum

performance

PRO

RACING

02 Nutrition

Nutritioniscriticalforeveryone– particularly

athletes – because, if you’re notfuelled in theright way,

it affectsevery thing fromyour moodto your concentration

and decision making.Nutrition is the glue that holds

everything together for human performance, including

mental skills development and physical activitiestoo.

I’ve noticed,especially through working with junior

drivers, howthey strugglein the afternoon by having

that lullwe all experience when blood sugar levels drop

and fatigue starts to kick in. There are ways to deal with

that, so that’s whywe have such aset routi ne to avoidit.

Whether it’s anengineeringmeeting or a session,I alwa ys

make sure Nico[Hülkenberg]is in hisoptimal condition.

We have to approach thatdifferently each day to balance

his nutrition needsfor the race asopposed to qualifying.

In terms of diet, weight is important, andespeciall y

with Nico becausehe’s on t he limit height-wise.We’re

talki ng just a kiloor two,and since all ourweight s

fluctuate,even after one‘cheat’ meal, that can be an extra

kilo the next day.But he’s very lean, sohe’s not carrying

much body fat.

With back-to-back races,Mondayor Tuesdayis the

window forhim to have a bit of a break, butit has to be

within parameters. Fluctuating weight isn’tideal for the

way the bodyreleases energy, so consist ency iskey. That

may seem aboringthing to say if you wantto hear about

dynamic, innovative,secret ways we arefuelling these

guys to give them this magic power. Really it’scommon

sense, combinedwith a bit of knowledge andplanni ng.

It is important for Nicoto have a good balanceof

carbohydrates andproteins – not too muchof one or the

other. It should beslightly more protein-based,but then

we do decrease that a littlebit towardsSunday. That’s

where the carb ohydratesare really important forhim.

The rest of the week Nico willhave foodsI kno w he

digests well, which don’t make him feel uncomfortable

and don’tupset his digestive system. Andfoods that make

him happy – that’s important. There’sno pointin me

tryingto give himmeals he’snotgoing to enjoy. Nico loves

pasta and fish, sothese are the things we fo cus on.

We alsodo metabolictesting. It’s one thingto

understand what he likesbut it’s another to see the

evidence of that diet onhis performance, beitin training

or in the car. We’vealso donespecific scientificwork to

find out what’shappeninginside his body, sothen we’re

able to maketweaks to what is already a healthy lifestyle.

As we ramp uptowards getting into thecar, you no tice

some driver s might have an espresso. I don’t know if he

does it onevery occasion, but youoften see Valtteri Bottas

with a coffee before he getsinto the car.A few years ago

I was against a caffeine injection before any session,

becausecaffe ine can giveyou a spike followed by a low.

But if you have agood toleranceto ca ffeine orany other

stimulant, it can be agood energyboost.

Nico will oftensay he likes to befuel led and have

“power” inthe car before qualifying. Hedoesn’t like to feel

low onenergy, so he likesto have something a bit higher

in carbs. Then before the race we havemore o f a balance

of carbs and proteins, which isslower releasing and keeps

him going.Then, away from food,he drinks electrolytes,

water and a combination of both throughoutthe weekend.

During therace itself he willhave a drink, but doesn’t

consume a lot, so Ineed tomake sure his hydration

levels aretoppe d up. But that top-up doesn’t just happen

before the race. Youcan’t suddenlytake a high-energy

sugar drink andbe sorted, because your body canonly

absorb at a certain rate, sotaking on fluids has to bepart

of a consistent, healthy plan. There’sno wa y to short-cut

dehydration, nutrition orfitness, becausethe body is

clever. Ittakes what it needs. If you haven’t trained your

gut or intestines to absorbmore fluid– they won’tdo it.

Nico st ays hydratedall the tim e. He drinks loads of

water and complains about it because he’s going to the

toilet a lot, but w elcometo the life of an athlete! Wateris

critic al sincejust a 2% loss equatesto about a20% loss

in concentration,but it can alsodepend on other factor s,

such as ambienttemperature.

Plus it’s important not todrin k electrolytes allthe ti me.

It needs to bethe right ratio of saltsto fl uid. If you endup

with too many salts in the bodythroughenergy drinks,

you’ll endup be ing dehydrated, with toomuch inside your

system, so youneed to diluteitthe right way.

For hotraces we will have an increase in electrolytes

becauseNico will be sweatingand losing more fluids.

Some athletes might sweatmore water thansalt, so it’s

good to understand thaton a cellular level.

We’re learning so muchabout thescience of nutrition

and how the stomach communicates with the brain

through themanyneural path ways. Most ofitisre lated to

absorption rate andhow quickly yourgut empties – but

the good news for the bodyis there aregood thingsin

most thin gs we eat, except processedfoods.

I might be on thin icehere, but even in beer– it’s good

to be able to enjoy a beeror two (post-race), anda gla ss of

red wine is reallygood for you.But it has to beat the right

time –and you do needto en sure a good balance.

WORDSJAMESROBERTS

PICTURES

F1 RACING DECEMBER 2019 31

FUELLING

AN F1 DRIVER

Nutrition and

hydration are

as vitalto the

success of

Formula 1

drivers as they

are to any

athlete. Nico

Hülkenberg’s

trainerMartin

Poole explains

how optimal

diet yields

maximum

performance