Formula 1 Betting: Hamilton keeps lid on bedroom secrets to shape up for Melbourne

Formula One / Ralph Ellis / 24 March 2009 / Leave a comment

Lewis Hamilton has been going to bed in his helmet and, with the World Champion arriving in Melbourne in fine fettle for Sunday's race, it's certainly paying off, says Ralph Ellis.

I once read that making love uses the same number of calories as a five mile run. What's more you don't have to do it in the wind and rain.

Maybe Lewis Hamilton picked up the same article because it appears that the World Champion racing driver, whose girlfriend is the glamorous lead singer of the Pussy Cat Dolls Nicole Scherzinger, has been doing much of his pre-season preparation in bed. What's more Hamilton's bedroom routines involve wearing a specially weighted racing helmet, which sounds like something Max Mosley would approve of!

Thankfully this is where we can get away from the naughty stuff and get back to concentrating on sport. Because according to this morning's Daily Star it seems that Lewis is working on strengthening his neck muscles rather than his relationship.

Hamilton arrives in Melbourne this week for the start of the Grand Prix season believing he's in the best physical shape of his career. And the bizarre bedtime ritual is just part of an intensive training programme which does include those long runs outside in the winter weather.

He explains: "The neck muscle is the one that needs to be the strongest. It takes massive G-forces during the course of a race. The training is quite simple, we have a helmet and we put a weight on the top - five or ten kilos. You just lie on the edge of the bed, with your head over the edge, and you just lay there holding your head up. Then you do repetitions, forwards and backwards without moving any of your body, just your neck. You go forwards, backwards, sideways and just lots and lots of repetitions until you can't do it anymore."

In a sport that requires massive concentration and ice cold decision making, physical fitness is vital. And Hamilton is insisting: "When I arrive at the first event I will know to myself that I'm fitter than these other guys or at least up there with the best of them. I know I can do a great job."

Ironically though, his body could well be more finely tuned than his car, because McLaren have admitted they will be behind target when they get on the grid in Australia. The pressures of competing in dramatic closing races of last season meant that while other teams were already focused on a complete new build for 2009, they and Ferrari were both still trying to perfect their 2008 models. It's why Jenson Button is [5.4] favourite to win the opening race, while World Champion Hamilton is a tasty looking [11.5] and last year's arch rival Felipe Massa as long as [8.0].

Both those prices look generous to me - especially for Hamilton whose competitive instincts will inevitably come to the fore. He has a title to defend, and a reputation to maintain, and in cars where the new design features are aimed at encouraging risk taking and more passing manoeuvres his natural aggression will come to the fore. There's [3.6] on offer for a podium finish which could be the best value you'll get on Britain's new Grand Prix hero all summer.

Five things you might not know about Nicole Scherzinger

1. She's absolutely gorgeous (Okay you do know that, but it was worth saying again anyway) If you want a fact to justify it she was ranked 22 in Maxim's Hot 100 in 2006 and 21 a year later.

2. Born in Honolulu her full name is Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente Scherzinger

3. Her Mum was 18 when she was born and split with her dad before they all moved to Kentucky. Scherzinger is her stepfather's name

4. Her first number one was with a band called Eden's Crush - a 2001 single called Get Over Yourself(Goodbye). Lewis won't want to hear that one!

5. She's the only Pussy Cat Dolls member to have songwriting credits on both their first two albums