Vettel Takes Advices from McLaren Physician

Sebastian Vettel's ties with McLaren goo deeper than one might expect. Although he is currently contesting for Red Bull Racing, the man he really trusts when it comes to physical training is McLaren's physician Aki Hintsa.

The two were spotted by German newspaper Sport Bild talking on the Bahrain grid two weekends ago. When asked about it by the aforementioned publication, Vettel made no secret from his good relationship with the Finnish physician.

“Aki and I are friends,” admitted the 21-year old driver, according to the German newspaper.

Another close friend of Hintsa seems to be countryman Kimi Raikkonen. Sport Bild reported that the Ferrari driver often asks the McLaren official for physical advices, with whom he used to work back when he was racing for the Woking based team.

Returning to Vettel, his close relationship with Hintsa did not lead to an official collaboration between the two. In fact, it was the Fin who found Vettel a fitness trainer, as revealed by the same publication. His name is Tommi Parmakoski and he's 26 years old (also a Fin).

“I always thought that I was demanding on athletes, but Sebastian is unbelievable. He wants to constantly improve himself: often calls me when he is finishing (training) to see what else he can do. You have to slow him down rather than push him,” said Hintsa on Vettel.