FEBRUARY 5, 2014
No more burgers for F1 rookie Ericsson
Marcus Ericsson has kicked off his F1 career with a diet. The Swedish rookie, set to make his debut in 2014 for the backmarker Caterham, revealed that his engineers have tasked him with losing weight before Melbourne. "They haven't said I need to be any particular weight," said the 23-year-old blonde, "but I'll go down as much as I can, ensuring I can still race for two hours." Eurosport Sweden reported that Ericsson, 180cm tall and 69 kilograms, has entered a diet programme with a specialist Italian clinic renowned for helping single-seater drivers lose weight. "We will work closely making sure I am at the right level," he said, "as you still need the highest concentration for two hours. "It is extremely hot and with high G-forces, so it's impossible to be a skeleton. "I won't be eating burgers for lunch and dinner but I still need to eat, because I train hard every day." Ericsson lamented the situation in F1, where a significant increase in the weight of the cars for 2014 has not been greeted with a corresponding minimum weight-limit change. "It's a shame the FIA and F1 can't just make a decision and increase the weight by 10kg," he said. "Then it wouldn't be a big deal and everyone would have the same opportunities. "But what can you do? I can't chop off a leg. Three kilos is a tenth per lap in this game, and my teammate (Kamui Kobayashi) is 7 or 8kg lighter than me." (GMM)