Do F1 Drivers Pee During Races? (Here’s The Truth)

F1 races are long, and the drivers don’t get any bathroom breaks. Long car journeys usually require a couple of pit stops to go for a pee, but what about 90 minutes at average speeds of 100+ mph? This may leave you wondering if F1 drivers pee during races.

F1 drivers do pee during races if they want to, and many have admitted to doing so in the past. But many drivers choose not to, and they don’t always need to anyway. Most F1 drivers will pee before they race, but hydration is a key issue and so they need to drink a lot of water.

You might think it would be hard to avoid going to the bathroom when racing a car for more than an hour in high-pressure conditions. However, there are some key things to consider about driving an F1 car that will make it a bit clearer why they don’t always need to go.

How Do F1 Drivers Pee During The Race?

F1 drivers pee like any other racing driver must do if the need arises while they’re driving – in their suits. Because F1 is such a high-intensity sport with no room for distraction, if a driver has to go, they just pee in their suit, but many drivers claim they couldn’t do it if they tried.

Some F1 drivers have admitted to peeing during races, while others have made claims of never having done so. Lewis Hamilton has said on numerous occasions that he has never peed during a race, adding that he couldn’t if he tried. Many other F1 drivers share this sentiment.

Lewis actually admitted to peeing once in the car during a lie detector test conducted by Sky Sports F1!

It is a well-known rumor that Michael Schumacher, 7-time world champion, did pee during many races. Lewis has said that his mechanics told him he would pee in almost every single race. You can imagine that after you have done it once, it would become much easier to do it again!

Some Do, Some Don’t

David Coulthard is another driver who has admitted to going in his suit, as well as James Hunt and Martin Brundle. Some of those who have said they never go in their suits include 4-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel, as well as Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. Some drivers say yes, and some say no, so it seems it is definitely an issue of personal preference.

F1 racing requires a lot of skill and focus, and there is a huge amount of technology involved in making these cars the fastest race cars on earth. So, the idea of going to the bathroom is not going to be at the top of the mechanics’ lists of priorities. For this reason, it is pretty much up to the driver if they want to pee in their suit, as there are more important things to worry about.

Drivers usually go to the bathroom immediately before the race starts, as they will drink a lot beforehand. However, the issue of going to the bathroom during the race is also important for the drivers’ safety, as we will discuss soon. Although drivers can choose to hold it or go for it, it might be the smarter option to go when they feel the need.

The same idea holds true in other motorsports too. MotoGP riders need to pee in their suits during a race when nature calls, and NASCAR drivers don’t wear diapers or catheters either. Motorsport is all about going as fast as possible, and bathroom breaks take up too much time!

Do F1 Drivers Poop In Their Suits?

F1 drivers can poop in their suits, but it’s very unlikely that any drivers do. When nature calls, the stakes are too high in an F1 race for the driver to stop. Drivers usually ensure they use the toilet just before the race start, to minimize the chance of them needing to go while driving.

Do F1 Drivers Wear Diapers Or Catheters?

F1 drivers do not usually wear diapers or catheters. If a driver needs the toilet when they’re racing, they simply have to go in their racing suit, although many drivers claim to never have needed to do so, or not been able to even when they did need, due to the stress of driving at such high speed.

Some drivers have been reported to have worn adult diapers, in order to make them feel more comfortable going in their suit. However, veteran drivers know how uncomfortable the suits can be with extra layers, so it is usually only ever rookies that do this.

Do F1 Drivers Wear New Suits Every Race?

F1 drivers do usually wear new suits every race, although not necessarily between sessions. Worn race suits not only get sweaty over the course of a race weekend, and potentially even damaged, but they’re also often sold off in charity auctions, or sold by the teams as merchandise for fans.

KEY POINTS

• F1 drivers have to go in their suits if they need to pee during a race

• They ensure they go to the bathroom before they get in the car

• Due to the high speeds and levels of concentration required, most drivers don’t need to pee

Can F1 Drivers Hold If They Need The Toilet During A Race?

A race can last up to 2 hours according to FIA regulations, and this is a reasonable amount of time to last without going to the bathroom. There are pit stops throughout the race, but none that involve the driver going to the bathroom, as there is just not enough time (unless there is a red flag). So, the drivers are instructed to pee in their suit if they need to.

Many will choose not to out of respect for the people who need to clean it up later, but many others just don’t need to go. However, when you consider the forces that the drivers undergo throughout the race it becomes clear that going for it is sometimes the smartest option. For example, consider if the driver really needs to pee and has a full bladder.

It Could Be Dangerous To Hold It

The bladder expands as it fills, and it becomes quite a solid lump of an organ when full. F1 cars can inflict G-forces of 6 or more times normal gravity, and that is a lot for anyone to withstand as it is. However, with a full bladder, this could pose dangers for the driver’s internal organs. So, it is always best to go if you are that desperate, from a safety point of view.

Plus, if they end up in a crash, the amount of force could cause the bladder to burst if it is full. This is obviously not a desired situation and it’s another reason they are instructed to go if they need. But regardless of whether or not they are happy to pee in their seat, they might never need to, despite the long races.

Do F1 Drivers Get Thirsty?

F1 drivers do get thirsty, as the conditions and physical demands of F1 racing mean they can get dehydrated quite quickly. For this reason, F1 drivers must hydrate heavily before the race and drink throughout it, using a special button on their steering wheel connected to a drinks tube.

How F1 Drivers Stay Hydrated

Hydration is an issue within every sport that involves a lot of physical exertion. Many people do not think that driving is a sport for this reason, because they don’t understand the physical fitness required to be a race driver. But F1 drivers train just as much if not more than most other athletes, and they need to in order to last the length of a race.

They need to be as light as possible in order to keep their overall racing weight down, so that they can be as fast as possible. But they also need to be very fit and be strong enough to withstand the high forces I mentioned earlier. The car is regularly pulling several Gs of force, which means their bodies need to be strong enough to fight against it and maintain control of the car.

High Level Of Fitness

This means they are constantly battling to keep the steering wheel where they want it, and they are also using their legs and feet to work the pedals. However, it is not just the physical exertion on its own that is important to consider, as the temperature of the cockpit is perhaps the most important factor that has an effect on the drivers’ hydration levels.

The cockpit sits right in front of the engine and is surrounded by components that get very hot during a race. The cars race at speeds of more than 200 mph (320 kph), and that requires a powerful engine, which puts out a lot of heat. Aside from that, the driver is also wearing a specially designed racing suit, which means the temperature in the cockpit can reach 50°C, or 122°F.

Losing Weight

This is not just uncomfortable for most people, but it also puts the drivers’ bodies under immense pressure to stay hydrated. The driver perspires constantly when driving, and Lewis Hamilton has said himself that the most weight he ever lost during a race was more than 4.5 kg (10 lbs) at the 2007 Malaysia Grand Prix. He knows this as F1 drivers need to be weighed before and after the race.

This weight loss is mostly due to the loss of water, and purely through sweat. The drivers drink a lot before the race, usually a hypotonic fluid, which contains electrolytes that the body loses under perspiration. These electrolytes are key for proper bodily functions, and especially for concentration and alertness.

How Do F1 Drivers Drink?

F1 drivers drink during the race using a special straw system that connects to their helmet. There is a container (usually) behind them in the car that contains a drink that can be automatically poured into their mouths through the helmet when they push a button on the steering wheel.

Where exactly the teams put the drinks bottle varies, as Red Bull for example tend to put it in the front of the car instead

Even though the driver can continue to drink throughout the race, they don’t have an unlimited supply. This is because, once again, they need to keep the weight down. But even with the volume they drink, the amount they sweat due to the high temperatures usually means they are never hydrated enough to need to go to the bathroom during a race.

They simply sweat so much that they are constantly losing the fluids that they are taking on, along with all of the fluids they drank before the race. But with the harsh conditions, strong forces, and very high pressure that the drivers are under when racing, it is still fair to assume that there will definitely be occasions where the drivers just need to go!

KEY POINTS

• F1 is a very physically demanding sport

• Drivers hydrate heavily before races, and they can drink during the race too

• They will typically lose a few kilos of weight during a race due to sweat

Final Thoughts

F1 drivers can pee during races, but if they need to go they must do so in their suits. There are no bathroom breaks in Formula 1 outside of the occasional red flag delay, but drivers are under such immense strain and pressure during a race that many simply never need to go.