The scales of Formula One injustice are weighed heavily against the taller and bulkier drivers if next season’s controversial new rules are fully adapted.
Size really does matter when it comes to fitting a driver into a grand prix car when there is hardly a centimetre of space to spare.
The 2014 edict is for the introduction of new turbo-charged engines and they, allied to heavier energy recovery systems, has seen the rulemakers increase the minimum weight limit of the cars plus drivers from 642kg to 690kg.
The extra 48kg will almost certainly be taken up by new power units, meaning there will be less leeway for drivers than there is right now.
Rumour has it already that “The Hulk”, six-footer Nico Hulkenberg, weighing in at 74kg, missed out on a dream switch to McLaren because of his size. And for the same reason Lotus are doubtful, too.
Scotsman Paul di Resta of Force India, another leggy 74-kg figure, is worried about his position, and F1 future, despite his obvious skill.
The issue, condemned by most drivers, stirred former champion Nigel Mansell, one of the stockiest drivers of his era, to support them and blitz the idea: “It’s outrageous and very wrong. It is disgraceful. It is discrimination against the medium and larger-sized drivers.
These guys are not jockeys. And to treat them as such is crazy.”
Jenson Button, also another six-footer tipping the scales at 70 kg, said: “The problem is that it will stop teams looking at taller drivers in the future.”
And the 2009 world champion added: “You could have a talented driver who could be missed for his height and weight even if he is the skinniest guy ever to be in a racing car. If he is overweight by just five kilos, that converts to about 0.2 seconds a lap and that translates basically to the end of his career.”
He cites his own struggle to maintain his weight levels and adds: “I have about six per cent body fat and I am on the limit in our car. I couldn’t be heavier than I am, so I starve myself before a race and never eat carbohydates. I love food, but I love the food I don’t eat. And this goes on all the time, all year.”
And he admits: “In the past three years, I have probably had four races where I have lost half-a-tenth or a tenth of a second because I have been overweight. It sounds small but in qualifying that could be a place or two and in the race the loss of five or six seconds. I reckon 1kg of weight equals about 0.035 seconds a lap. If a driver is over the weight by 5kg, that is about .02 seconds a lap. And that, basically, is the end of your career as a grand prix driver.”
When the margins are measured in micro-seconds and the tight finishes often perilously close to being dead-heats, the crucial factors come down to pounds and ounces.
No wonder the likes of lightweight Sebastian Vettel at only 64kg can leave ‘The Hulk’ wondering which way he went. Even before the four-time champion puts his all-conquering Red Bull in to full flight.
Jockeys suffer self-inflicted eating disorders to starve themselves down to weights that guarantee them rides on the best horses and, it looks to me, unless the rules are changed, F1 drivers will face the same sacrificial demands.
The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, worried about the probability that teams will decide not to hire drivers whose extra bulk could cost them critical split seconds of time, will insist that regulations are changed to give their members ample belly room.
I’ll put my weight behind the GPDA.