In 2019, a weight limit was introduced in Formula 1. It states that the driver and seat must not weigh less than 80 kg in total, otherwise extra ballast is placed in the seat.

The idea of ​​the rule is to reduce the weight among drivers. But within Formula E, which is the highest racing series for electric-powered formula cars, there is not yet the same boundary.

Five percent body fat

Something that according to an article on the motorsport site The Race has led to the same kind of unhealthy slimming that F1 drivers previously testified to.

- You are always sick when you have so little body fat. Even the skin becomes so thin that it does not insulate against high or low temperatures, Swiss racing driver Edoardo Mortara tells The Race, where he also states that he only has "five percent body fat".

Ericsson: "Sounds exactly like my five years in F1"

For Swedish driver Marcus Ericsson, the article tears up memories of his own time in Formula 1.

“This sounds exactly like what it was like for me during my five years in F1. Fortunately, the 80-kilo limit was introduced (the year after I left unfortunately). I remember it was extremely tough mentally and physically to constantly try to lose weight and at the same time be healthy, ”Ericsson writes on Twitter.

Body weight is becoming increasingly crucial

According to the rule book there is a minimum weight that the car, including the driver, must not be less than. Every gram can be decisive in a race, so the teams make every effort to stay just over the limit.

But as new technology and equipment have made the cars heavier, the body weight of the drivers has become an increasingly central role. In addition to the teams chasing pounds in the car itself, the drivers' own bodies thus become the way to chase grams and hundreds of parts.