2023-10-13 21:59:29
Last GP de Qatar was the tougher in terms of heat and humidity refers, and after the Big prize, there were not few the pilots who commented that they had finished the hardest race of their livesto the point that there were pilots, like Logan Sargeantwhat They couldn’t even cross the finish linewhile others had to go to the medical center as soon as they finished the race.
The Monday after the Losail race, The FIA promised in an official statement to carry out an investigationensuring that “despite the pilots being elite athletes, They should not be expected to compete in conditions that endanger their health. or your safety.”
For him next yearthe race to be held in the Qatari desert is scheduled for weekend of December 1almost two months after this edition, which should partially alleviate the heat problem suffered in this edition.
Despite this, Fernando Alonso He comments that there should be a rule within the regulations that allows sessions to be delayed as long as necessary. “It was a surprise, to be honest, because the conditions in free practice were not that bad. Maybe it was because of the wind or there wasn’t enough ventilation.”.
“The race has been extreme. We have to think about some solution in the future.and in some extreme conditions we should agree to delay departure time or whatever” comments the Asturian.
Bottas, for his part, agreed that the race held two years ago with cooler conditions at the end of November was less extreme for everyone. “Even though it was only three degrees, it was a big difference. When it’s hotter in the car than your body temperaturethere comes that point that turns it into unbearable. That’s him heat limit that we consider safe”.
When asked if there should be a rule that marks a limit between what is acceptable or not to compete, he responds that “Yes, there should be. We all try to compete as hard as we can in every race and you won’t stop if you can keep competing. But at some point it becomes unhealthy and risky, so I would not allow temperatures higher than these”.
Fred VasseurFerrari team principal, agrees that the Losail race was very close to the limit, adding that the category should “review” what happened on Sunday during the race.
“I think we are close to the limit when you have drivers abandoning because they don’t feel safe competing” says. “They have the lucidity to stop, but they could also have an accident, so you have to pay attention.”
“Last weekend it was very close to the limit or even above it. But for the future, Next year, the Qatari event will be at the beginning of December so there will be a great difference in both temperature and humidityd”.
George Russell cooling off while taking advantage of one of his pit stops. / Source: F1
Finally, Andrew Shovlin, director of track engineering at Mercedes, agrees that conditions for the 2024 race should be more acceptable. “When the air temperature is close to body temperature, I may continue giving it natural air to the pilot, but It does not have the same cooling effect than when the air is a little cooler,” he comments.
“The humidity complicates everything. But what would be the ideal solution? Next year the race moves to Decemberin a moment more fresh and it is surely the most sensible thing we can do to avoid these problems” concludes the one from Mercedes.
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