“Logan, you fought a brave day. Let’s bring it in and call it a day. Let’s look after you.” When Williams team principal James Vowles said this to Logan Sargeant midway through the Qatar GP, everyone gained a little more respect for him. The question is, why did he even have to say it? It was because Sargeant (and every other driver) wasn’t just fighting other drivers on track. He was fighting himself and the conditions—the extremely dangerous conditions in Qatar. 

“I’m not feeling well at all,” Sargeant said. While driving an F1 car at upwards of 250kmph, that’s the last thing a team would want to hear. Williams decided to retire his car to avoid a potentially dangerous situation not just for him but also for the others on track. And as Vowles said, to take care of its driver. As everyone’s respect for Vowles increased, their respect for the FIA decreased. A Williams ambassador believes the drivers need to speak up.

The FIA needs to take notes from the Logan Sargeant health scare

F1 drivers are used to pushing themselves to their limits. Sometimes, even beyond them. The Qatar GP tested the extent of their limits, so much so that the same drivers who push themselves week-in, week-out couldn’t stand after the race. To put into perspective just how bad the conditions were, track temperatures were over 40C. The humidity was probably higher than that of Singapore. Both those put together made the perfect recipe for absolute dehydration. To add to that, drivers had to drive 57 qualifying laps because of Pirelli’s 18-lap tire usage limit.

High-speed corners make for some of the highest lateral G-force drivers have to withstand. And Lusail Circuit is filled with them. More than the heat, former F1 driver Jenson Button (who also raced in three NASCAR races this season) feels these high G-forces were a cause for concern. “The biggest issue is for them that their bodies were at such high lateral G, for so long, that you can’t breathe. They’re not able to get the oxygen into the blood, so that’s the biggest issue,” Button told Autosport at the Petit Le Mans sportscar event. 

“When I raced NASCAR in Austin, I almost stopped in the race. I said to the team, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ I was just so hot. Until drivers speak up, they won’t change it.” Qatar’s conditions were less than ideal. F1 will visit Qatar seven weeks later in 2024, so the conditions won’t be as extreme as last weekend. Even so, drivers need to take charge of the situation, and there needs to be a call for action. Because what happened in Qatar wasn’t okay. While Sargeant had to retire because he wasn’t feeling well, the drivers who weathered the storm for all 57 laps were in conditions just as bad.

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Sargeant was one of many drivers who suffered in Qatar

In the interview at the Petit Le Mans sportscar event, Button said, “I remember racing F1 in Malaysia when my water bottle broke. I had big issues in the race. You start shivering, and then you lose your vision. Then it gets dangerous, so I’ve felt how bad it can be.” Until Qatar happened, the races in Malaysia (which is no longer part of the calendar) and Singapore were the toughest in terms of physicality. Now, it’s unequivocally Qatar. Lando Norris, a driver who never drinks from his bottle during a race, was compelled to hydrate. After the race, he was probably the only driver who could stand properly. Everyone else was struggling.

Charles Leclerc got out of the car and called the race the toughest of his career. Rookie Oscar Piastri said the same. Max Verstappen said it’s up there in one of the toughest. Fernando Alonso, a driver who’s been here the longest, was close to getting burned in his seat. That’s how hot it was. His teammate Lance Stroll was losing vision because of the demands of the circuit and went straight to the ambulance. Esteban Ocon, though. He had it the worst. He revealed that on Lap 15, he threw up in his helmet. “I had to open the visor to be able to breathe. It was hell in the car,” he said. 

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F1 drivers are elite athletes, but even they shouldn’t have had to go through what they did. What action do you think the FIA will take after watching Logan Sargeant and many others fall prey to the Lusail Circuit?