Tsunoda joins Alpha Tauri

[Quartz]

Looks like he's replacing Kvyat

 

[Flibster]

Was a test of the 2018 Toro Rosso at Imola. Not a guaranteed 2021 drive yet.

 

[Calm]

First Fomula 1 driver to require a booster seat

Apart from maybe weight distribution, do you think there's any benefit to being small now? I recall Prost used to think it was a positive, but I don't think there were weight limits back then.

 

[GravyMonster]

A couple of years ago the drivers weight was included with the car which meant that taller drivers like Button and Hulk had to lose a lot of weight, and fatigue became an issue at some races. The FIA changed the rules for 2019 IIRC so the drivers weight is now measured separately and must be a minimum of 80kg, so there's no benefit for smaller drivers any more.

 

[Ryan-3]

Wow. Even I wouldn't need too much of a crash diet to meet that target!

 

[Mr Jack]

A couple of years ago the drivers weight was included with the car which meant that taller drivers like Button and Hulk had to lose a lot of weight, and fatigue became an issue at some races. The FIA changed the rules for 2019 IIRC so the drivers weight is now measured separately and must be a minimum of 80kg, so there's no benefit for smaller drivers any more.

Not quite. The drivers weight was always included in the total weight minimum, but the change in rules meant - for the first time in recent decades - coming in under the weight limit became a problem for cars with larger drivers. A lighter driver had always been an advantage, because you could position the ballast used to make up the weight better than the driver, but it wasn't a big deal. The new rules made it a problem as you describe. When they sorted that out they then also changed the rules so the ballast had to positioned in a specified place close to where the driver sits essentially nullifying any advantage of a lighter driver which I assume is what you meant by the drivers weight needing to be a minimum of 80kg? They're not making smaller drivers eat pies