Why Ollie Bearman Trades Gym Time for Padel and Cycling Before a Grand Prix

Heading into an F1 race weekend, the drivers have a wide variety of prep work that they go through to get ready for the Grand Prix. While most of them focus on neck work and gym sessions, Ollie Bearman prefers heading to a session of cycling or a game of padel.

Speaking to Swathi Nalamalapu of Men’s Fitness, the British driver revealed that it largely has to do with acclimatizing himself to the natural environment of the race venue. For Bearman, the race week training is “definitely a bit less intensive than the rest of the season,” given his body needs to adapt to the changing conditions.

With consistent environment changes being a part of the job, cycling and playing padel allows Bearman to generally have some fun, while also allowing him to feel at home during the race.

As for the heavier sessions, the toughest of them all is lined up between the final test of the season in Abu Dhabi and the first week of January. The volume and the intensity of the workouts are really high at the time, given he has no driving duties to serve and can afford the extra training.

Even in those sessions, heat work takes center stage, largely because it gets him acquainted with sitting in the cockpit during a race.

The Cockpit Is Why Heat Work Matters for Ollie Bearman

Most of the cardio work that Bearman does, he does it in the sun. The hotel gym is air-conditioned, but the Haas driver needs to be comfortable with the heat before the race. Temperatures can easily pass 60°C in the cockpit, with heart rates frequently reading north of 170 bpm.

While the FIA does everything it can to ensure driver safety, the drivers also take their own measures to ensure they are in sync with what the conditions demand. As such, Bearman’s solution to the problem is to consistently train in the sun and let his body get comfortable with the heat.

There is a second layer to the reason why he trains outside, but it is simply due to the fact that he doesn’t enjoy cardio in the gym. He finds it boring as opposed to cycling out in the open, where he can “see so many beautiful things” alongside getting to ride with the fans.

And given the extreme heat work that Bearman ends up going through, recovery becomes an even more critical aspect of the routine.

Ollie Bearman’s Recovery and the Attention on the Neck

Despite such an intensive cardio routine, Bearman’s recovery routine is surprisingly simple. On a hot weekend, he focuses on an ice bath. But the Briton isn’t a fan of the concept, so he tries to avoid it as much as he can.

Instead, he reaches for an ice-cold drink to help cool his body down. A simple change of clothes and a food top-off to offset the calories he burned ends up being enough.

While most of the Haas driver’s routine looks like any other fitness enthusiast, the difference comes in when he starts working on his neck. A combined balance of neck and core strength lowers the extremity of power braking.

With drivers feeling four to six Gs under braking, the neck needs to stay as centered as possible to avoid losing focus. As such, if you were to ask Bearman what a normal guy should steal from an F1 driver, the neck would stand out as a priority.

More F1 Reading

• Ollie Bearman’s Haas Contract Delay Tied to Ferrari 2028 Demands, Assuming Hamilton Retires, Insiders Claim
• F1 Insists Qatar and Abu Dhabi Races Go On, Max Verstappen Doubts Teams Will Split
• Peter Bayer Backs Liam Lawson’s 2026 Results Amid Rumors About His Racing Bulls Future
• Charles Leclerc Penalty Explained: Why Stewards Chose Five Seconds in Mexico City, Not 10