It was borderline unbearable, I almost fainted! Russell spoke about the harsh conditions during the Qatar Grand Prix

The Qatar Grand Prix was a very challenging one for all the drivers in the grid. Many of them finished the seventeenth round of the season with health problems, a topic also discussed by George Russell.

It was one of the toughest races of the season. Oscar Piastri and Esteban Ocon even admitted it was the hardest race of their careers.

In a post-race interview, George Russell also spoke on the subject. The Mercedes drivers did not start the Qatar Grand Prix well at all, colliding with each other at the first corner after all five lights went out.

Lewis Hamilton, trying to overtake his teammate, closed the inside track too much and Russell shot him off the track as a result.

While Russell made it to the pits and was able to continue afterwards, it was an immediate end for Hamilton. Needless to say, the seven-time champion was one of only four drivers to go into the Qatar Grand Prix on the softest set of tyres.

In any case, Russell put in a very decent damage limitation performance throughout the race and eventually finished the Qatar Grand Prix in a very respectable fourth place. Would he deserve the Driver of the day award for this performance?

Without a doubt, yes, but the best driver of the day was Australian Piastri. He started sixth and finished the Qatar Grand Prix second, less than five seconds behind the winner Max Verstappen.

Track conditions? I nearly fainted…

But the last race was no treat for the drivers, quite the opposite. Logan Sargeant retired from the race due to nausea, while Ocon admitted to his race engineer after the race that he vomited into his helmet on lap 15.

According to Lando Norris, who also commented on the subject in a post-race interview, most of the riders had significant health problems after the Qatar Grand Prix. Lance Stroll was unable to get out of the car himself due to fatigue, and some drivers in the medical centre were reportedly prone to fainting.

How was Russell in particular? The Mercedes driver believes that the race in Qatar was really at the limit of what was bearable. While the air temperature reached a maximum of 33°C, the drivers complained of much higher temperatures they had to face in the cockpits due to its humidity.

“I think it was beyond what was acceptable for driving. If more than 50 percent of the starting field said they were sick, that they couldn’t drive, that they were close to passing out… you don’t want to pass out when you’re going 200 km/h down the straight, ” Russell said in that post-race interview.

“That’s exactly how I felt at times. Any hotter and I think I would have retired because my body would have given up,” he added.

Source: F1 TV, Sky Sports