While on my never ending quest to discover the inner workings of the Formula 1 paddock during my recent visit to Barcelona, a thought suddenly struck me; just what do drivers eat…?
If you haven't read part one of this feature with Williams head chef Adam Dixon, click here.
Having worked with many brilliant drivers’ food requests over the years, Adam Dixon recalls Mark Webber’s approach was quite different to the team’s current drivers. Mark would eat five meals throughout the day and on a Saturday night would carb load very slowly.
"It was just a different physio’s idea. [It’s] quite an interesting thought to carb load the day before, a bit like a marathon runner."
As Adam continued, for Felipe Massa and newcomer Lance Stroll, what the chefs cook for their drivers is very much dictated to him by the drivers’ physiotherapists.
Food schedules are handed over to the head chef ahead of each race and then Adam has his team make the magic happen. But variety is definitely not the spice of life for the veteran Brazilian and his young Canadian apprentice who usually choose to stick to the same meals each day during a race weekend.
"They have a very specific diet when they're away racing, I'm sure when they're at home it's totally different but we almost have our hands tied with them," says Adam. "They're all very set in their ways; they have the same thing every day."
So what's on the menu during a typical race weekend for Felipe and Lance?
Felipe’s Menu
Friday – Breakfast, an omelette with four egg whites and one egg yolk, plain cooked with a fresh juice of apples, cucumber, ginger. Lunch is roast chicken breast with wild rice and salad and evening meal either steak or piece of fish (depends on what he's got planned).
Saturday – repeat.
Sunday – it varies but he normally goes for pasta and 2-3 hours before the race he’ll carb load. Any snacks are dealt with by the physios.
Lance’s Menu
Friday – Breakfast, an omelette similar to Felipe’s. Lunch is usually chicken and vegetables while dinner is fish and vegetables with no snack in between meals unless it’s occasionally fruit.
Saturday & Sunday – a repeat of the above.
This column first appeared in issue 208 of Motorsport Monday – our free weekly online magazine, packed full of great content. Subscribe by clicking here.
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