Performance coach Sam Village, who has worked with several leading Formula 1 drivers, explains on the Sky Sports F1 podcast what the grid had to withstand amid relentless conditions in Qatar; he says conditions need to be looked into and that drivers were "impressive" to get through race
Wednesday 11 October 2023 14:34, UK
A leading F1 trainer has shed further light on what Formula 1’s drivers would have experienced in the gruelling conditions of last weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.
Sam Village, a performance coach who has worked with Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz and, currently, Zhou Guanyu, joined Ted Kravitz, Karun Chandhok and host Matt Baker on the post-Qatar edition of the Sky Sports F1 podcast.
"I've heard that it was one of the hardest conditions that anyone has ever seen," Village told the podcast after a number of drivers reported feeling unwell, dehydrated and, in some instances, faint as cockpit temperatures reached around 50C amid relentless evening heat and humidity at the Losail International Circuit on Sunday.
"I've spoken to Zhou's trainer, who also worked on the grid with Felipe Massa for his whole career as well, and he said he has never seen it hotter than that.
"Then I spoke to Carlos [Sainz's] coach and he said that the dry heat during the day meant that the humidity was created in this landscape and it just became unbearable.
"I think there is a reason why the football World Cup [in 2022] was in the winter. I think we can all recognise that now.
"The conditions were very hard and if it was maybe one or two races like that a year, we could prepare for it a lot better. But with the schedule that a racing driver has it's really difficult to prepare a racing driver for a race in a different environment really."
Hear more from F1 trainer Sam Village on the Sky Sports F1 podcast in the player above, including an in-depth explanation of exactly why drivers would have been feeling faint and dehydrated, plus his experiences of working with drivers in similar conditions in the past.
F1 regularly races in countries with high ambient average temperatures, such as Singapore, and previously raced in Qatar at the same circuit almost two years ago without drivers experiencing quite such extreme levels of physical strain.
But that 2021 event took place seven weeks later in late November, when temperatures are usually slightly cooler in the Middle East, and this weekend's also included the unprecedented step of a mid-weekend change in tyre rules due to safety concerns, which appears to undoubtedly have had knock-on consequences for the nature of the race.
Drivers had to pit three times, at least once more than would have been the case usually, and this meant they could actually push their car harder through a full stint without needing to worry that their tyres would wear out too early.
"It was a combination of the length of the stint they were given, the new track surface and the heat," said Village of what developed into a perfect storm.
And on the inherent high-speed nature of the circuit and the challenge such a layout presents drivers, Village explained: "The characteristic of the Qatar track is there are lots of high-downforce fast corners.
"When they go through these high-downforce fast corners they tense and ultimately, they hold their breath a little bit.
"So their breathing rate is the same as when they are asleep but their heart rate is between 150 and 180 [bpm]. So, there's an element of hypoxia in the brain as well potentially. That's the challenge.
"Roughly they are experiencing between 3-6G through each corner, each braking point, so those loads are being put on to them as well.
"They had to deal with a lot and it's pretty impressive to be fair, without loads and loads of conditioning that we would probably put through an endurance athlete if they were going to Hawaii to race in an Iron Man, for example.
"And, also, they are getting hot water basically to drink for an hour and a half, an hour 45, whereas if a guy was racing in those same temperatures in endurance they'd be covering themselves in water every 15-20 minutes, they'd be able to have a cold drink as well."
Village added: "It's really unique this sport. Really unique.
"It's also really unique in a sense that we don't really know enough about what's happening in that cockpit as well. There are a number of little initiatives going on about getting some more human performance data, but we've still not got it all when it comes to temperatures, heart rates, breathing rates and all the forces that are put on the body."
On Monday night, the FIA issued a statement announcing that it would be reviewing the events of Qatar to provide recommendations so to avoid a similar situation in future.
F1's governing body stated that "while being elite athletes, [drivers] should not be expected to compete under conditions that could jeopardise their health or safety".
Village says the fact drivers were reporting feeling faint - with Lance Stroll saying he was "fading in and out" in the car - made assessment of the matter urgent.
"I think the moment any sort of light-headedness is even discussed something needs to happen because that's unbelievably dangerous," he stated.
"It's quite common to faint in the heat, there's no doubt about that. One hundred per cent it needs to be looked at."
Also in this week's podcast: Was the Mercedes' Qatar collision a matter of time? Is time running out for Sergio Perez at Red Bull? And just how strong is resurgent McLaren's driver line-up? Don't miss an episode of the Sky Sports F1 Podcast. Subscribe now on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Spreaker
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