Fernando Alonso revealed after the Qatar Grand Prix that he asked Aston Martin to throw water over him during a pit-stop, to cope with the immense heat which led to several post-race medical concerns.
Sunday’s race put the drivers to their absolute limit, to the extent that many admitted it was the toughest Grand Prix of their racing careers.
Even though the race took place under the Lusail International Circuit lights, the drivers were still subject to temperatures in excess of 50°C in the cockpit.
The immense heat and high humidity created a dangerous environment for the drivers to be racing in, to the point where several took themselves to the medical centre after the race to be treated for severe dehydration and heat exhaustion.
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
Logan Sargeant even retired from the race due to feeling so unwell in the cockpit, whilst Esteban Ocon was sick in the opening stages.
Alonso’s team-mate, Lance Stroll, even revealed that he’s convinced he lost consciousness at times during the race, whilst others lifted their visors up down the start/finish straight to try and cool their dace down.
It was an absolutely brutal evening for all the drivers, with Alonso having shared after the race that he burned himself in the cockpit.
To try and deal with the pain of the burns, Alonso asked Aston Martin if they could throw water over him, something which is banned in F1 as it’d increase the weight of the car and could therefore be used to cover up being underweight.
As a result, Alonso was forced to fight through the pain, which for many became too much at the end.
Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri were even seen laying down in the cooldown room, highlight just how demanding everybody found the race.
READ: Ted Kravitz urges fans to not ‘beat up Lance Stroll too much’
Alonso revealed that his burns didn’t even happen at the end of the race, with it having occurred in the opening stages.
“I think for Lance [Stroll] and myself, both of us, we were struggling a little bit with temperature in the seat on the right-hand side,” said Alonso.
“I got like burned in the first 15 laps so I even asked on the radio if they could throw me some water or something at the pit stop, which apparently is not allowed.”