Life in the load cell fast lane during lockdown
If the lack of driving during lockdown has been getting you down, spare a thought for those who normally live in the Formula 1 fast lane.
You may think they are spending hours in sophisticated simulators, racing the world’s most famous circuits, and with load cells in their simulator pedals recording every nuanced movement of their well-heeled feet.
Apparently not, however. Deprived of the need for speed, they’ve been keeping active in other ways.
- Top Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo has been spending time driving a tractor on his family’s farm deep in the Australian countryside.
- Williams driver George Russell has been burying his nose into a good book, in this case Niki Lauda’s autobiography, “To Hell and Back”.
- Lando Norris has been showing how he builds his neck muscles on Instagram . (Don’t try this at home!)
- Valtteri Bottas decided to hike to the highest point in freezing Finland, Halti, although the box containing the visitor’s book at the top was closed!
- Louis Hamilton has been in physical training three times a day but according to a BBC article has not been competing in e-sports.
“Hamilton has not been joining his colleagues in online racing, saying he is “not really interested in the driving-simulator racing” and that he “doesn’t find it personally of any benefit whatsoever”. But he said he had been trying to beat his own lap times on a racing simulator game.”
Training in the sun
Caught in Dubai when lockdown started, AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly decided to stay in the sun with his personal trainer. In an articlehe revealed how his time was spent following a strict diet and some serious training:
“Right now, we do six days of training in a row then one day off. We split it: half cardio and half weight exercises. In Formula 1 you need to… be really fit, cardio wise, so we do a lot of running or cycling for quite a long time and also a lot of intervals at the moment.”
However, there’s no sim racing for him – his trainer doesn’t have a sim set up in Dubai.
Taking the lead from Leclerc
Others have gone online to share their thrills and spills on the live gaming platform Twitch, including Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc on his own sim setup. If you fancy racing against him, and other top drivers in e-motorsport, you’ll need to invest in some serious sim rig kit. Goodwood Road and Racing particularly recommend
“Load cell pedals, which simulate the progressive, hydraulic feel of actual car pedals.”
Supercar driver Rick Kelly gives you the low-down on why load cell pedals are better in this video:
Buying load cells in lockdown
Our online Load Cell Shop is very much open for business, with fast delivery times from our base here in Reading, Berkshire. You can also call us or email us with your specific requirements.
