Marcus Ericsson has kicked off his F1 career with a diet.

The Swedish rookie, set to make his debut in 2014 for the backmarker Caterham, revealed that his engineers have tasked him with losing weight before Melbourne.

“They haven’t said I need to be any particular weight,” said the 23-year-old blonde, “but I’ll go down as much as I can, ensuring I can still race for two hours.”

Eurosport New Zealand reported that Ericsson, 180cm tall and 69 kilograms, has entered a diet programme with a specialist Italian clinic renowned for helping single-seater drivers lose weight.

“We will work closely making sure I am at the right level,” he said, “as you still need the highest concentration for two hours.

“It is extremely hot and with high G-forces, so it’s impossible to be a skeleton.

“I won’t be eating burgers for lunch and dinner but I still need to eat, because I train hard every day.”

Ericsson lamented the situation in F1, where a significant increase in the weight of the cars for 2014 has not been greeted with a corresponding minimum weight-limit change.

“It’s a shame the FIA and F1 can’t just make a decision and increase the weight by 10kg,” he said. “Then it wouldn’t be a big deal and everyone would have the same opportunities.

“But what can you do? I can’t chop off a leg. Three kilos is a tenth per lap in this game, and my teammate (Kamui Kobayashi) is 7 or 8kg lighter than me.”