Daniel Riccardo: ‘I’ve never peed in an F1 car

Daniel Ricciardo

Riccardo: ‘I’ve never peed in an F1 car – but some do’

McLaren driver and team-mate Lando Norris reveal the agony of a mid-race bathroom break

Ian Parkes & Will Gray

Sunday 2 May 2021 10:30

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When you need to go, you need to go, and according to Daniel Ricciardo, some F1 drivers get so desperate during a race they have to take their own personal pitstop inside the car.

The Australian driver’s ‘revelation’ came during a pre-race press conference at the Portuguese Grand Prix, when he and McLaren team-mate Lando Norris were posed a question from a fan about needing a mid-race bathroom break.

“If you need to go, it just stings,” said Ricciardo. “I’ve heard some have gone [during a race], before. One has not. I couldn’t. You know, you’re so tense, it’s just hard to, um, to go.

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“That’s why all of us, when we get to the grid, we jump out. We’re not going to like, I don’t know, check out Facebook or Instagram or something, we’re going to use the bathroom and try to be not in that predicament come the race.”

Ricciardo, who moved to McLaren from Renault this year and loves a bit of banter, then asked his new team-mate: “Have you done it before in the car. Have you peed?”

Norris insisted “No. I couldn’t do that” before Ricciardo added: “You need to relax! You can’t relax at 300kph! [A pitstop] is too fast [too]. They’re 1.9 seconds.”

Norris went on to reveal how a late-race safety car is the most dangerous moment for an F1 driver, not only in terms of keeping the tyres warm and preparing for the re-start but also when it comes to bladder control.

“I’m sure it’s the same with everyone,” he said. “Your trainer’s always giving you your water bottle and you drink and get hydrated. But I don’t drink at all during the race. I’ve never done it, never in Formula 1 either.

“So I never top up and that late-race safety car, I tend not to struggle as some other people do. I’ve heard stories of people doing it in the past and I’m happy not to be joining them.”

Back in 2016, when Lewis Hamilton appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show ahead of the US Grand Prix in Austin, he revealed one driver who never let the need for a wee get in the way of a good race result.

Speaking to the US TV audience, he said: “Michael Schumacher, I don't know if anyone's heard of him, but legend racing driver. My mechanics told me he peed every single time he was in the car.”