Adrian Sutil has revealed that he didn’t eat for two days in a bid to lose weight during the opening races of the 2014 season.
The Sauber driver is one of the taller drivers on the grid and one of the heaviest which, due to the weight limitations and an overweight car, means he is penalised compared to his rivals.
In an extreme bid to shave some kilos off, he revealed that he chose not to eat for two days to see what the effects would be.
“Of course we go to the limit and I also went to my limits,” he said. “I tried to not eat for two days and see what the reaction is.
“I just try really hard to lose the weight, but if you are already light for your height you have to lose muscles and if you lose muscles you lose the strength of your body.”
Sutil has pushed for a weight limit increase, but that’s fallen on deaf ears. He doesn’t however believe it’s reached a dangerous level despite refusing to race with a water bottle to save weight.
“There is a point that you shouldn’t go over. I still believe we are in an area that’s safe, but we shouldn’t go over it.”
The German stressed it was his decision to push to the extreme, not his team or his trainers.
“I did it because I wanted to see and go on the limit to make sure I did my maximum. I don’t want to be in the car and say I could have done more. I like to be on the limit and if it’s not enough I go really hard on the edge. I tried it, but I’m still alive, don’t worry too much. And it was my own decision and that’s an important thing.
“It helps now to have a lighter car so we are close to our weight limit, but it’s just my target and I want to improve myself whatever it takes. I’m willing to do it.”
