(Motorsports news) The FIA has promised to investigate how severe temperatures and humidity forced drivers to push themselves to their physical limits in Qatar. The extreme heat and flat-out nature of the tyre stint-limited race at Losail presented drivers with one of their most difficult trials to date, which some referred to as “hell” and “torture.”
Logan Sargeant had to quit due to heatstroke, Esteban Ocon became ill in his helmet, and Lance Stroll passed out numerous times. In a statement, the FIA said: “While being elite athletes, they should not be expected to compete under conditions that could jeopardise their health or safety.”
Although Button was not present in Qatar, he believes that the high-G characteristics of the course contributed to the issues that drivers encountered. “I didn’t feel how hot it was, but one of the bigger problems with Qatar is that these guys are at high G all around the track,” he went on to say. “The heat… We’ve had a lot of heated races in the past, after all.
“But I think the most significant issue for them is that their bodies were at such high lateral G for so long that they couldn’t breathe.” The major problem is that they can’t get oxygen into the blood.” When asked what he thought could be done from a car standpoint to regulate the temperature of drivers in the cockpit during the Petit Le Mans sportscar event, Button replied: “You can’t do anything, apart from air conditioning, and you’ve never heard of that in an open-cockpit car.”
“It’s clearly hot in those cars, and I know they don’t have power steering, so I know it hurts them as well.” However, they are not subjected to the same G pressures as an F1 car [on a road course]. “I nearly crashed out of a NASCAR race in Austin.” I told the team, ‘I can’t do this anymore,’ because I was so heated. As a result, different cars have distinct heat difficulties.
“They will not change it unless drivers speak up. I remember racing F1 in Malaysia, and when my water bottle broke, I had major problems.” You begin to shiver and then lose your vision. “Then it becomes dangerous, and I’ve felt how bad it can be.”
