The Qatar Grand Prix pushed the 20 drivers on the Formula One grid ‘beyond their limits’ last weekend with scorching track temperatures and high humidity affecting more than half of those taking part.
Lance Stroll faded in and out of consciousness, Esteban Ocon threw up in his own helmet, Fernando Alonso complained of burning in his seat, Alex Albon had to go to the medical center for acute heat exposure and an already ill Logan Sargeant had to withdraw .
The heating temperatures didn’t help, as the Losail International Circuit is one of the most physically demanding on the calendar, and the FIA limiting tires to just 18 laps for safety measures meant drivers pushed relentlessly for the duration of the race. .
Despite this, a number of tracks on the current calendar have provided much hotter racing in the past, without affecting the drivers as much.
There have been 1,096 world championships over 73 seasons in 34 countries, and the hottest race ever came back in 2005 at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The FIA will consider changes following allegations of dangerous heat at the Qatar Grand Prix last week
Alpine rider Esteban Ocon threw up 15 laps in the race in his helmet but finished seventh
Track temperatures during Grand Prix weeks vary around the world during a regular season
Alonso, then just 23 years old and chasing his first of two drivers’ titles, won the race and described it as the hottest race of his career and 18 years later it is still the hottest ever held at ‘ a freezing temperature of 42.6 degrees Celsius.
It broke the record set by three different races, the 1955 Argentine Grand Prix, the 1984 Dallas GP and the 1985 Detroit GP – all of which were 40 degrees.
Track temperatures on the day also reached a staggering 56 degrees, although drivers on that day struggled less than Qatar last weekend.
In Qatar, daytime temperatures exceeded 40 degrees which would have placed it as the second hottest race of all time.
The race didn’t start until 8pm and the temperature was still incredibly high, never dropping below 36 degrees.
Humidity was also over 70 percent and the wind dropped from the first two days of running. With less cool air from the breeze to cool the effects of the temperature and humidity, one mitigating variable was removed.
Fernando Alonso won the 2005 Bahrain Grand Prix – the hottest race in F1 history
Bahrain is now held at night where Alonso, 18 years after the hottest race ever, finished third behind the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez
The lack of wind at Lusail meant drivers had to deal with hot stagnant air, and even hotter track temperatures. George Russell said that temperatures inside the cabin were approaching 50 degrees.
Since 2005, Bahrain has benefited from the move to a night race, with this year’s season opener coming at an air temperature of 27.5 degrees – around 15 lower than the 2005 race at the same track.
This year’s Bahrain Grand Prix saw a track temperature of just over 30 degrees, with an air temperature of 27.5 – some 15 degrees lower than the 2005 race at the same track.
The Qatar race will move to December next year, so can benefit from being held in the first month of the cool season in the country.
There are a number of other races on the calendar that also have the potential to cause high temperatures.
Both Brazil and Australia held races with a higher temperature than that of Qatar.
The Singapore Grand Prix is known as the most physically challenging track on the calendar
The 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix – where Kimi Räikkönen pipped Lewis Hamilton and Alonso to the title in the final race of the season – reached 38.2 degrees. This was followed by the season-opening 2008 Australian Grand Prix, which reached exactly the same temperature – with both events in the top five hottest races of all time.
This year’s Australian Grand Prix – held in the same month as 2008 – saw significantly cooler temperatures of 19 degrees.
Sao Paulo hosts the Brazilian Grand Prix again next month, with last season’s race seeing an air temperature of around 23 degrees, while the track temperature saw a drastic drop in the middle of the race with highs of 45 degrees and a low of 33 degrees.
The most challenging track on the F1 calendar is traditionally the Singapore Grand Prix.
It is an animal like no other because it is known because it is one of the hardest races to compete in physically and mentally, which means it requires a kind of preparation unlike any other race.
The humidity and relentless nature of the course make it the most challenging on the calendar. Every year drivers are seen crawling out of their cars, completely broken down in Singapore where the race often lasts two hours due to the inevitable safety car.
Drivers traditionally lose up to three kilograms (6.6 pounds) during the race.
The 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix where Hamilton (above left) lost the title in the final race to Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari (below) is one of the five hottest races of all time
Hamilton’s season-opening 2008 victory in Australia is also one of the five hottest on record
The F1 calendar has three races in the US on the schedule from this year, with Las Vegas joining Miami and Austin, Texas.
Las Vegas will hold its first race on November 19, a month that is one of the mildest of the year for Sin City. The average high for Las Vegas in November is a balmy 20 degrees during the day, with temperatures dropping to around 5 degrees at night.
The race will start at 22:00 local time, and teams have admitted that they have concerns about making their Pirelli tires work in the expected low temperatures.
Mercedes engineer Andrew Shovlin, as per Autosportsaid it would be ‘winter test conditions’ if the track dropped below 10 degrees.
Conditions are expected to be much more different from Miami, which was held in May, and Austin, which takes place later this month.
The 1978 Canadian Grand Prix is the coldest race ever, although this year’s event temperatures reached around 19 degrees
The Las Vegas Grand Prix could be the coldest on the calendar this year, with the race set to start at 10pm where temperatures can drop to as low as five degrees overnight in November.
Miami’s race averaged an air temperature of 29 degrees during the race, while the track temperature ranged between 35 and 43 degrees.
Early forecasts for the United States GP in Austin, Texas, suggest the temperature will be similar at around 29 degrees with little chance of rain.
Last year’s Mexican Grand Prix had an air temperature in the late 20s with the track temperature ranging between 35 and 45 degrees.
Canada holds the record for the coldest race of all time at the circuit now known as the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve after the legendary Ferrari driver.
The 1978 race had a record low temperature of five degrees. However, the race that year was held in October, but for much of its run on the F1 calendar it was held in the summer.
This year’s race was still one of the coldest of the season with an air temperature of 19 degrees and track temperature of an average of 30 degrees.
The European season typically brings the coldest races of the calendar year, even if some of the races are held over the summer months.
The British Grand Prix usually ranges from 15 to 25 degrees on average with this year’s race seeing a temperature of 21 degrees.
Max Verstappen’s home race – the Dutch Grand Prix – saw the coldest race of the season so far (15 degrees), followed by Canada, Belgium, Australia on 19, Austria on 20, Silverstone on 21 and Spain on 22.
The hottest races of the 2023 European season came at the Hungaroring in Budapest which reached highs of 30 degrees (51 track temperature) and the Italian Grand Prix at Monza with 31 (40 track).
May’s Monaco Grand Prix saw temperatures range from 23 to 28 degrees (27 to 40 degrees track).
The season will conclude with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which will take place in November and traditionally averages around 25 degrees with the race held at night.