September 30, 2022, 05:10 PM
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Singapore is evidently way too hot -- even for F1 drivers whose job involves sitting together with a fuel-guzzling, heat-dissipating engine clocking laps for hours at a time.
To get ready for the the Formula One Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix back in Singapore from Sep. 30 to Oct. 2, 2022, race car drivers taking to the Marina Bay Street Circuit are going to the sauna to acclimatise themselves to Singapore's equatorial heat and humidity.
At the sauna to get steamed
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas posted on Sep. 27 a video of himself in the sauna wearing his birthday suit and a hat with reindeer antlers.
The clip started with the 33-year-old Finnish driver setting the temperature to 100°C before he was seen sitting naked on the sauna’s bench with a canned drink.
He said, jokingly: “Singapore ritual for some, Finnish daily ritual for others.”
Sauna with indoor bike
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz put up a video on Sep. 23 of him peddalling an indoor bike while in a sauna.
The 25-year-old wrote in the video's caption: “Extreme situations call for extreme measures... Getting ready for Singapore.”
Have to get used to the heat
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who is Sainz's teammate, shared on Sep. 28 at a closed door media event that he had to spend time in the sauna to prepare for the Singapore Grand Prix.
The 24-year-old from Monaco, said: “This is the track we have to think about and prepare for. We’ve been spending a lot of time in saunas, even during the summer, at very high temperatures.”
Former F1 driver Felipe Massa, who was also at the event, agreed that such high-temperature training was needed to race in Singapore.
The Brazilian, who was with Ferrari from 2006 to 2013, said: “It’s an amazing track to drive, but the heat and humidity, combined with the way the track is laid out, makes it a tricky and mentally tough race.”
Top photos via Valtteri Bottas Instagram & Carlos Sainz Instagram
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