Open-Wheeled racing drivers (such as Formula One[F1]) have been thought of in the past as being `non-athletes` due to their limited movement in comparison with field and court team-sports such as Rugby and Basketball. However due to new emerging research regarding the physiological responses to Open-Wheeled racing, drivers are now being considered as `athletes`. The initial purpose of this article was to review existing literature based on physiological responses to Formula One Racingand provide current trends in testing and training regimes within this motorsport community. However, due to limited research on such subjects, the literature search was expanded to Open-Wheeled Racing (i.e. F1, Indycar etc), resulting in six articles. All six studies came to the conclusion that Open-Wheeled racing drivers experience similar physiological responses to that of Rugby and Soccer athletes, with particular regards to VO2max (~60 mL/kg/min), Heart RateMax (186.3 bpm) andLactate Accumulation (3.27 mmol/L). However, the differentiating factor that makes Open-Wheeled so unique is the high G-forces encountered during braking, cornering and accelerating, sometimes reaching 4-5G. From this, muscle fatigue, most notably inthe upper body, is a very prominent response to high-speed racing (150-300 km/h). Thus, Trainers/Strength and Conditioning (S&C) Coaches are advised toemphasise upper-body training & conditioning in their training programs, most notably isometric neck strength exercises such as Banded Isometric Lateral Neck Flexion. Testing procedures that cover key physical capacities including VO2max, Lactate Threshold, and 1RM Strength Testing should be conducted. Due to the F1 racing schedule, which consists of 20 races per season, with arace every fortnight in a different country, it is recommended that training sessions (2-3 days/week) target the full-body.
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