multi21

McLaren team honcho has banned Alonso and Lewis from drinking ANY alcohol during the entire 2007 Formula One season..... except for the sips of bubbly on the podium.

Kimi really f'ed with his mind ... www.f1racing.net

LVDell

driving or drinking

....or both?

Nordschleife

I think you mean 'drinking alcohol'!

I don't see any problem with this. F1 pilots are expected to be extremely fit. With these levels of fitness, very low levels of body fat and a predominantly healthy diet, the tendency is to 'get drunk on the smell of an oily rag'. As the fintness level increases, the pleasure derived from drinking tails off, the urge to drink is reduced as its no fun when it goes straight to one's head.

Rather more seriously, alcohol inhibits one's ability to get 'in the zone'. Given the amount of testing that gets done through the season, giving up alcohol for the duration is no hardship, its no fun driving beneath one's best capabilities.

You may have noticed that most F1 drivers are fairly small, the effects of alcohol on small framed people are greater than they are on larger people carrying a bit more 'condition'.

I have observed several F1 drivers behaving like real prats when they have been drinking during the season, in fact most of us are surprised to see any of them drink during the racing season, its effects get in the way of getting the job done.

Even in Endurance racing, Le Mans etc., there is a trend away from drinking alcohol in any quantity during the season, fortunately for Germans beer is counted as food, but then overeating is frowned upon! And the odd glass of wine with food is a natural event for many of the Europeans.

There is another reason for imposing drinking bans, its to do with asserting who is running the show.

R+C

Veloce Raptor

Ahem....

Nordschleife

Your point being???????

(see my 'real Pratt' remark)

R+C

enthusiast

What about bull fighting limitations for Alonso???

Larry Herman

I don't see the problem with that. I wouldn't touch the stuff if they'd put me in an F1 car. Maybe that why I keep drinking!

earlyapex

No wonder JPM and KR left.

A.Wayne

No kimi had the same picture that coulthard had , of ron humping a sheep, so they had there way with him ...

Nordschleife

although Bruce Maclaren was a New Zealander, Ron Dennis isn't, so sheep tupping jokes are out of place. These days Germans appear to be on the receiving end.

R+C

ltc

Interesting to see if this was in their contracts or something that Ron Dennis is trying to enforce non-contractually.

skl

Wonder what their big sponsor Johnnie Walker thinks of that...

earlyapex

The next he will ban is sex before races. Don't want to drain the main.

2bridges

All perspective I guess.
I find it funny that the masses polute themselves with alcahol, and drugs.

If I were told by anybody anywhere that that was a requirement it would be a non issue

Rich Sandor

I LOVE my beer, but I would give it up in an instant for an F1 drive.