{"id":293688,"date":"2023-10-09T10:24:25","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T10:24:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/?p=293688"},"modified":"2023-10-09T10:24:25","modified_gmt":"2023-10-09T10:24:25","slug":"f1-drivers-slam-dangerous-50-degree-heat-at-qatar-grand-prix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/racing\/f1\/f1-drivers-slam-dangerous-50-degree-heat-at-qatar-grand-prix\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 drivers slam 'DANGEROUS' 50-degree heat at Qatar Grand Prix"},"content":{"rendered":"
George Russell believes Formula One went ‘beyond the limit of what is acceptable’ by staging a Qatar Grand Prix that Lando Norris described as ‘too dangerous’.<\/p>\n
Canadian driver Lance Stroll said he faded in and out of consciousness because of the extreme heat and humidity during Sunday’s 57-lap race in Lusail and was also seen stumbling towards an ambulance moments after he emerged from his Aston Martin.<\/p>\n
London-born driver Alex Albon was treated for acute heat exposure at the on-track medical centre, while his rookie Williams team-mate Logan Sargeant was forced to park his car through illness. Alpine’s French driver Esteban Ocon also vomited during the race.<\/p>\n
Temperatures in the drivers’ cockpits exceeded 50 degrees for a contest which lasted one hour and 28 minutes.<\/p>\n
Russell, 25, who is director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, and revealed he came close to blacking out after driving back from last to fourth following his first-corner crash with Lewis Hamilton, said: ‘Today was beyond the limit of what is acceptable.<\/p>\n
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George Russell was outspoken about the punishing heat at the Gulf state grand prix on Sunday<\/p>\n
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On-track temperatures rose to 40 degrees celsius – but it was over 50 degrees in the cockpits<\/p>\n
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Russell claimed that over 50 per cent of the grid were affected badly by the humidity<\/p>\n
‘Over 50 per cent of the grid said they were feeling sick, couldn’t drive and were close to passing out.<\/p>\n
‘You don’t want to be passing out at the wheel when you are driving at 200mph, and that is how I felt at times.<\/p>\n
‘If it got any hotter I would have retired because my body was ready to give up.’<\/p>\n
This was only the second staging of the Qatar race and the first of a 10-year deal which, in the region of \u00a345million each season, is among the most lucrative for the sport’s American owners Liberty Media.<\/p>\n
Next year’s edition will be held two months later in December when it is expected to be cooler.<\/p>\n
McLaren driver Norris, 23, who finished third, said: ‘We found the limit today and it is sad we had to find it this way.<\/p>\n
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Esteban Ocon shared that he vomited inside his helmet on lap 15 in the over 40 degree heat<\/p>\n
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Three-time world champion Max Verstappen clinched victory at the Lusail International City<\/p>\n
‘It is never a nice situation to be in when people are ending up in the medical centre or passing out.<\/p>\n
‘It is not a point where you can just say, ‘the drivers need to train more’. We are in a closed car and it gets extremely hot.<\/p>\n
‘Clearly, when you have people who end up retiring or in such a bad state it is too much. It is too dangerous.<\/p>\n
‘I know that next year this race is later on in the season, and it will be cooler, but it is still something that needs to be addressed. I am sure we will speak about it because it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.’<\/p>\n