F1 Fanatic

I’ve been toying with the idea of maybe doing an article from my medical view of drivers’ physiology and what physical changes drivers go through in a race. I know we’ve occasionally seen excellent pieces by Brundle on the Beeb/ITV in the past, and thought it would be a good area to go deeper into.

Would you guys be interested in a piece like that?

@mouse_nightshirt Absolutely 100% yes. That would be super super interesting to read!

i’ve always wondered about their eyesight, eye performance and how they don’t blink for extended periods of stimulation.

@mouse_nightshirt Yeah, sounds like a great idea!

@F1Yankee – I’ve not managed to find much specific information on eyes other than one solitary paper, and I’m not sure about the evidence behind the blink rate, but I’ll delve further.

@verstappen – That should be straightforward enough – I’ll give it a go.

@raymondu999 – I’m a doctor so have a pretty decent understanding of human physiology. Response to sport is exercise induced and isn’t too dissimilar to stress responses.

In any case, it’ll take me a while to write, reading up a lot of papers at the moment on the topic! Thanks for your feedback :)

@Mouse_Nightshirt Oh no I don’t doubt your credentials. But how are you going to get the paddock insight as to what happens to the drivers physically in the car?

@raymondu999 It’s a fair question! There are quite a few academic papers out there, free to access and some through my NHS access as well. Professor Sid Watkins did a paper specifically on the topic (free access if you search Google) back in 2006 on physiology in formula 1 drivers and a bit on LeMans. As papers go, it’s s quite readable by the lay person. The problem I have is trying to somehow make these sorts of papers readable to the average fan.

Is it possible to gauge the effect of G forces, if any, on internal organs over time.