Was the Qatar Grand Prix irresponsible? 'Water was 60+ degrees Celsius'

The Qatar Grand Prix last Sunday was held in extreme conditions. This was evident after the race to the drivers, who were very sweaty and exhausted. Unfortunately, there were also more extreme situations, with Logan Sargeant having to abandon the race early and Esteban Ocon throwing up in his helmet. Christian Horner does not think the race in Qatar was irresponsible, as this is what the drivers are training for, according to the Red Bull Racing team boss. However, several drivers disagree with Horner.

Horner: 'This is what F1 drivers train for'

Horner said, after the Qatar race, that he did not think the conditions were irresponsible: "No, I think that's what they train for, and it's good to see that both our drivers were in reasonable shape at the end of it. Yes, they were physically dehydrated, but they were both in pretty sensible shape. As Max said, I think it's one of the toughest five, in the top five, of toughest races for him," Horner told GPblog.

Sergio Perez received several time penalties in the race for exceeding track limits, but whether this was because the Mexican was exhausted, Horner dare not say. "I don't know. I think we really need to sit down with Checo because we know what he's capable of, and he's not hitting that form at the moment, and we desperately need him to find that form to keep this second place in the championship. It's frustrating that he's only come out of the weekend with one point, and I think he could have, even starting from the back of the grid, I think there was an opportunity to score heavily today."

Vasseur disagrees with Horner

Naturally, Frederic Vasseur was also asked about whether, and in his opinion, the conditions in Qatar were too extreme to race in. According to the Ferrari team boss, F1 is close to the limit when drivers have to abandon the race early because they simply cannot continue because of their health. This is something that needs a lot of attention, according to the Frenchman.

"This weekend, at the peak of the temperature and humidity, it's also very challenging for the drivers with the succession of 16 corners, and when you are not always in corners, it’s very high-speed and very demanding. I think for them, it was really extreme. I don't want to say if it's too much or not, but it was really extreme, probably too much, and we have to pay attention to this," Vasseur said.

Leclerc: 'Water was like 60 degrees Celsius'

Leclerc previously stated that it was the toughest race of his life, but would not comment on whether F1 drivers were put in a dangerous position. "I think it's difficult to put into words and to explain how tough it is, especially with the G-forces when, as I said, you have a lot of dehydration. You can drink, but the drink is more a tea than anything else because it's at 60+ degrees [Celsius]. So, it's extremely difficult to hydrate yourself," the Monegasque told GPblog, among others.

According to Leclerc, not exceeding the track limits in the race was also extra difficult because you get more and more exhausted. "We are speaking about centimetres at 280 kph. In qualifying when we are fresh, it's difficult to respect them, but in the race, it's just a nightmare at the end of the race. Maybe there are things that we could do because these cars now are so quick in the high speed, so when you are doing quali laps after quali laps, the G-forces we are going through for 57 laps with this heat is crazy."

Russell was close to retiring in Qatar

George Russell was also close to giving up because of the extreme conditions in Qatar. "Today [Sunday] was beyond the limit. I think of what was acceptable for driving if over 50% of the group were saying they were feeling sick, they couldn't drive, they were close to passing out, and you don't want to be passing out when you're driving 200 miles an hour [320 km/h] down the straight, and that's how I felt at times. If it was any hotter, I think I'd have retired because my body was going to give up."