F1 News: Rules Disallowed Aston Martin From Pouring Water Over Fernando Alonso's Burns In Qatar
The Qatar Grand Prix might have proven to be quite extreme for Fernando Alonso who suffered a "semi-burn" on his right side due to the heat and humidity. But, F1 rules prohibited Aston Martin from pouring water over the burn area during pit stops.
Sunday's race might have been a nightmare for several drivers in terms of the conditions they raced under. At 34 degrees Celsius, Esteban Ocon revealed he was sick inside his helmet while Logan Sargeant was forced to retire.
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Alex Albon received medical attention for excessive heat exposure and Lance Stroll opened up about passing out in his car. Such was the condition of many F1 drivers at the Losail Circuit which put the best premier-class athletes to test.
Fernando Alonso was not far behind in sharing his ordeal, which to be honest, sounded worse. The Spaniard suffered a "semi-burn" on his right side due to a hot seat. In the first fifteen laps of the race, he was heard telling his team on the radio, "The seat is burning, mate. Anything we can do at the pit stop? Throw me water or something!”
Sadly, the team could not end his suffering because throwing water over a driver is not allowed as per the rules. Alonso told the media:
“I think for Lance and myself, both of us, we were struggling a little bit with temperature in the seat on the right-hand side.
"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.”
Despite the hot seat, Alonso managed to finish well within points in sixth position. When asked if it was on the edge to be racing that way, he said:
"Yeah probably.
"I didn’t feel perfectly okay in the car but then some of my colleagues were struggling so it was probably on the limit.
"We can think about in the future as well, like in the football, sometimes in the hotter conditions, they have some breaks or something.
"Obviously, we can’t break, but maybe we need to have a minimum or maximum temperature or humidity or something.
"But I was surprised, I didn’t expect it to be that hard.”
FIA Analysis
The heat problem has pushed the FIA to begin its analysis of the situation so it can come up with a concrete solution in the future when weather conditions are extreme, such as in Qatar. The statement read:
“The FIA has begun an analysis into the situation in Qatar to provide recommendations for future situations of extreme weather conditions.
"A number of measures will be discussed at the upcoming medical commission meeting in Paris. Measures may include guidance for competitors, research into modifications for more efficient airflow in the cockpit, and recommendations for changes to the calendar to align with acceptable climatic conditions, amongst others.”
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