Le Viennesse then hooks it to a short elasticated cable that is, in turn, attached to some weights. We have to sidestep away from the machine and then perform lunges, keeping our neck straight to build strength in the muscles without hurting them.
It still hurts. I struggle with just over 6kg attached on either side. Aron insists on trying 17kg and lunges away with disarming nonchalance.
The Estonian does have a relatively thickset neck and says he didn’t really struggle with the forces a single-seater exerts on those muscles until he reached F2. “Your neck is always adapting to a quicker car,” he adds.
That said, he acknowledges that there is a vast jump from F2 to F1. Having been part of the Mercedes F1 junior programme from 2019 until 2023, he joined the Alpine F1 Academy in 2024 and his first chance to drive an F1 car came in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi.
This year he has been an official Alpine reserve driver and has appeared in four Friday practice sessions with Alpine and on loan to Sauber. “In my first test, I had to put extra padding in the cockpit surrounds halfway through the day, because my neck was done,” he says.
“The first time you drive an F1 car, it will be difficult, no matter how much you’ve trained. This year, I’ve gone months between driving the car, and every time I get back in, it’s a shock.”
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