Text from the linked article:
F1 Rumour: Alex Albon In Medical Centre After Challenging Qatar Grand Prix
Williams driver Alex Albon is reportedly in the medical centre following the Qatar Grand Prix due to struggling to get out his FW45 after the race. The track temperatures reached 37 degrees Celsius and caused issues for multiple drivers. Esteban Ocon threw up in his helmet on Lap 15, Logan Sargeant was forced to retire from being ill, and Oscar Piastri had to lie down in the cool-down room.
Footage of Albon trying to get out of the car at the end of the race has been circulating social media. The British-Thai driver required help from the Williams team to get out of the cockpit and then had to sit on the car when he seems to have extremely low energy.
It has also been reported on social media that Albon has been sent to the medical centre to be checked over after the session. (…)
Video of Stroll trying to get out of his car: https://youtu.be/FPpsvLEZAH4?feature=shared
Video of Albon trying to get out of his car: https://youtu.be/1KjRzzKYvic?feature=shared
They’d jump out like a rabbit with the adrenaline pumping through their bodies because of the risk of losing their life.
That’s what we’d like to think, sure.
DC had commented during the F1TV coverage that he was surprised the drivers were feeling ill or much of anything besides adrenaline from racing so the conditions must’ve really been taking a toll. When an expert on the subject takes note of the extreme conditions that’s a red flag to me that something may need a closer look.
Just hypothetically- If they’re already peaked out just trying to keep themselves driving because the conditions make them ill, what kind of decision making would we see? To me, Logan looked like a driver in survival mode on the way back to the pits. If he drifts back into the racing line because he’s blacking out or delirious from heat exhaustion, what capacity is he going to have to free himself from the car if someone were to collide with him?
It just seems logical to me that if the FiA are going to do things like the halo, survival cell, checking vertical oscillations for high G load, red flags for rain, etc, all in the name of driver safety, then maybe they will look into days like today before something tragic happens.
Adrenaline doesn’t overcome a body shutting down from heat exhaustion and definitely not from heat stroke.
Watching Logan, Alex, and Lance get out of their cars there’s no doubt in my mind they were suffering from heat exhaustion at minimum. I’ve suffered from it many times in my life and I know what it looks like, and this is it. It doesn’t matter how much you need to move, you’ve reached your limit and your body is actively shutting down because it simply can’t function at those temperatures and with that much fluid loss.