Fresh F1

Source: Turun Sanomat, Kuala Lumpur

HEIKKI KULTA,
translation by Warwick.

Health guru, McLaren’s doctor Aki Hintsa helped McLaren’s drivers to be in winning shape, despite driving in extremely though conditions.

“The heat caused much more problems to Lewis than to any other driver I have worked with.” - Hintsa said.

“Lewis wasn’t able to perform well in Friday’s FP2. He was simply very exhausted. I told him that he should learn from it, because he didn’t listen my instructions that I had given him earlier.”

The lesson was learnt.

“I made some special things just for Lewis. We made a strict plan, which was followed hour by hour before the race. The program contained instructions that he should prepare and drink in the exact same rhythm as he was sweating.”

Hintsa was one of those people who made McLaren and the Kuortane Sport Institute cooperate. But now in Malaysia, Hintsa took care of everything.

“We measured everything on Friday and Saturday. Data kept coming in.”

Alonso doesn’t sweat as much as Lewis

Preparing the winner Fernando Alonso for the race didn’t cause as much trouble for Hintsa as Hamilton’s preparation did.

“Metabolically speaking, Fernando and Lewis are two totally different types. Fernando sweats off only 800g, while Lewis lost 2.8 kg (2800g).”

In the end, the results with Hamilton were great.

“It was good for Lewis to go through all this. I told him that he will not feel well if he doesn’t follow my instructions. When he lost it on Friday, I advised him to do what he was supposed to do. Then he did and noticed that it worked. For an athlete it’s important to see that the strict program he is following actually has an impact.”

“I showed Lewis how physical shape and mental energy depend on each other. He saw that his system started to work again. After that it was easy to work with him.”

“It feels great when you can start from a clean sheet with a talent like Lewis. It is so much easier on my behalf, compared to working with the more experienced F1 drivers because they think they already know everything”.

Hintsa greatly enjoys McLaren’s huge resources.

“This is an awesome place to work; I can do everything how I like to do it, because there are enough resources. I don’t have to think `can I do this or not?`. I just make the programs and then we follow them.”

~ by Wiz Kid on April 11, 2007.