An F1 driver's guide to summer break: Inside the shutdown with Oliver Bearman

The Formula One summer break comes at a perfect time for some and a frustrating one for others. For the drivers riding a wave of confidence and results, it is an inconvenient roadblock halting momentum, and for those trying to keep their heads above water and escape a rut, it can be a saving grace.

The sport's summer shutdown rules don't care, though. For two weeks every August, the engineers must vacate the factories, and drivers are free to jet off on their holidays or spend precious time with their families, away from the public spotlight that comes bundled with life in motorsport's most glamorous series.

But when the camera shutters stop and the interviews cease, what do F1 drivers get up to? Can summer break itineraries have a tangible impact on results when racing resumes? Does the training stop, or are your favourite stars bunkered down in the gym away from prying eyes?

Express Sport spoke with Haas prodigy and F1 rookie, Oliver Bearman, to find out.

"It's definitely important," Bearman explains as we start our conversation in the Haas motorhome in Zandvoort. "Not just for the driver, but also for the team members, to have a summer break. It's three weeks where we're able to actually get away from the racing and the stress of racing.

"For us, but especially for the mechanics and the engineers, you know, it's really full-time, weekends included, so it's really nice for them. I think for a driver, it's important how you use a summer break. First of all, you need to switch off and not think about racing.

"But by the same token, you need to also look back at the first half of the season, what was good, what wasn't so good, to make a real plan of action for the second half and come back ready and fighting."

Over the winter, drivers are subjected to rigorous training programmes by their personal trainers. Much of this training focuses on building up core and neck strength, which are required to withstand the intense G-forces - up to five times their body weight - experienced during a Grand Prix.

There is also a cardiovascular component to the training. Many drivers, including Bearman and the likes of Carlos Sainz and Valtteri Bottas, swap the cockpit for the saddle, building up their fitness on the bike. Others lace up their trainers and head out for runs.

Fortunately, such a rigorous combination of strength training and cardio work is not required mid-season. "There was definitely less training and a less strict training regime during the summer break," Bearman confirmed.

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"I was, of course, keeping active. That's just my personality, and naturally, I like to do stuff to keep myself busy. But, yeah, definitely not a strict waking up early and getting out on the bike, which is my normal regime. So, yeah, it's nice to have a little bit less regiment in life for a few weeks because for the rest of the year, everything is very strict."

That's not to say all training goes out of the window, though. "But also, it's important to keep some discipline and stay focused," he continued. "You know, this time of year is not really about trying to get fitter or stronger; it's about maintaining because we're so busy."

For Bearman and the current bumper class of rookies, the summer break was a period of change. The Formula Two schedule comprises 14 race weekends - F1 had navigated as many before the August interval - and there can be breaks of up to four weeks between rounds.

"Normally, I'm not happy for the summer break because I feel like it always comes at an annoying time, and I want to keep going and racing because I'm in a good rhythm or groove or whatever," Bearman explained, looking back at his previous summer break experiences from a stellar junior career.

"But now, this year was the first time that I really felt that I needed the summer break, just to reset and relax a little bit, because it's been such a busy first half of the year. Of course, we're doing 10 more races in F1 than I've ever done in my career.

"So it's natural. But, yeah, by the same token, I say 'I felt like I needed it', but also after week one, I was a bit bored and wanted to come back to the racetrack. So it's one of those things."

If summer breaks can influence results in the second part of the season, then Bearman's form is compelling evidence. The 20-year-old Brit recovered from a pit-lane start to finish a career-best sixth place at the Dutch Grand Prix, keeping a cool head on an afternoon where chaos reigned and more experienced rivals were caught out.