Ex-Formula 1 racer David Coulthard has expressed delight over seeing current drivers “exhausted” after grand prix weekends.
This year, the sport is operating under a new set of technical regulations, which allow the drivers to race closer on the race track due to how downforce is produced.
In previous seasons, drivers would be forced to manage their cars as they were prone to overheat while racing wheel-to-wheel.
However at the opening two rounds of the 2022 season, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc battled for several laps for the lead, with some drivers commenting on the physical nature of the grand prix.
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen stated qualifying in Jeddah “broke” his neck, while Mercedes’ George Russell described last weekend’s race as the most physical he’s endured in F1.
Coulthard has welcomed the change from previous campaigns, which he believes adds to the challenge of enduring a race distance.
“Well, it looks really eye-openingly fast,” he told the F1 Nation podcast. “It looks very challenging, not much room for error, it’s part of the challenge of Formula 1.
“What I did love is to see all the drivers pretty knackered at the end of it, pretty exhausted. For so long in the hybrid era, they weren’t even sweating at the end of the grand prix!”
“That’s not to take away from their skills but it was the ‘management Formula’ for a long part of that era.
“We’re now back to hard racing, fast racing, and pushing the car to the limit – and I say fantastic.”
