POLE POSITION: I don’t remember F1 legends Niki Lauda and James Hunt bleating about the heat… elite sport is supposed to be brutal

Hearing complaints about the sweltering conditions at the Qatar Grand Prix last weekend, it seemed to me that several observers were surprised to discover that Grand Prix racing is a tough affair.

Brutal, even. An examination of the human condition.

It’s an old trick, but now let’s introduce “Daddy” Hemingway. The wise bearded man noted, before blowing his brains out: “There are only three sports: bullfighting, automobile racing and mountaineering; everything else is just games. Our own James Hunt said a similar thing in another way, observing: “They’ll deny it forever, but the reason people come here to watch is to see if any of us die.”

Hunt’s also-departed main rival, Niki Lauda, ​​largely let his actions make the case for courage bordering on madness, never more so than at Monza in 1976, when he virtually returned from the dead . Nearly incinerated at the sadistic Nurburgring in Germany, he returned without eyelids 40 days later to race at 300 km/h, making around 1,400 gear changes with a nearly amputated right hand.

My late colleague at this newspaper, the master of these pages, Ian Wooldridge, was present. “Is this a 27-year-old man,” Ian wondered, “so unwilling to concede earthly title that he is willing to bet his life against death when most men would hide their desperate wounds in a dark room of a clinic ? And if so, what is the psychological definition?

James Hunt (right) and his main rival Niki Lauda (left) understood the dangers of Formula 1

I bring up this ancient story as a remedy for the absurd post-Qatar mews, where some of the well-paid stars felt weak (and I’m not minimizing their afflictions): Esteban Ocon vomited in his helmet (and didn’t I don’t complain); Alex Albon was treated for heat exhaustion, Lance Stroll subsequently fell, Logan Sargeant retired ill. My goodness, it was hot and humid there.

And the sport’s owners, Liberty Media, were determined to hold this pointless race no matter what, even a little closer to the end of the warm season than was prudent. Qatar pays £60m a year to be on the list. That’s more than any other country, except perhaps Saudi Arabia, and it counts.

These reservations aside, it is one of the joys of a sports observer’s life to watch drivers take on difficult conditions and master them. Martin Brundle was not in Qatar, but he showed a lot of common sense in his comments about X from afar. “It’s races like Qatar and very rainy days that make F1 drivers look like the heroes and athletes they are,” said Sky’s top pundit and veteran of 158 grands prix and many more series as a racing enthusiast. “I don’t subscribe to the weak view that we shouldn’t subject them to this kind of challenge. Discover Senna in Brazil, Stewart on the rainy Nürburgring, Lauda after the crash, etc, etc.

In fact, although it was hot in Qatar, the atmosphere was no more oppressive than in many other places over the years. Most young drivers have never raced in Malaysia, where the weather was always extremely humid.

Maybe they and their teams should look for solutions: how to hydrate better, how to cool down in the cockpit. Elite sport is a tough job, and it should be. This is why the protagonists earn up to £50 million a year. It is also worth noting that while some drivers were feeling ill, the strongest among them, Max Verstappen, who was up the day before celebrating his title with a possible glass of gin in his tonic, not only won at a gallop, but was also as fair as the rain afterwards.

There will be X-rated rants that say, “Well, if it’s that easy, do it, buddy.” » My answer is simple. I can’t do that. It’s the difference between us and them, between mortals and the best in F1. We should accept the fact.

Alpine driver Esteban Ocon vomited in his helmet after 15 laps of racing but finished seventh

Mercedes in turmoil – so where is Toto?

Has Toto Wolff lost the plot? Presumably. The Mercedes team principal hates the Japanese Grand Prix – his least favorite circuit – and so he had knee surgery this weekend. Which is curious in itself. He had the whole month of August without a race to do it. And the whole month of December until next February. He can choose his time. He is not on an NHS waiting list.

He has now missed two races, his recovery being too slow to allow him to be in Qatar. Doctors said he should rest in Monaco.

The team isn’t going anywhere. Lewis Hamilton, 39 in January, has been registered for too long. George Russell is therefore retained. They dragged on for two years with no apparent answer to their car’s faults. And all the while, Toto stays at home, handing off his responsibilities to trainee team principal Bradley Lord, his public relations manager, and Jerome D’Ambrosio, his director of driver development.

What is going on ?

Toto Wolff, pictured with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton at Spa, has issues to resolve

No news from Lewis

Lewis Hamilton is taking to X and Instagram to fight against any injustice he perceives. Nothing is too politically sensitive to avoid. Generally.

But Hamas terrorism? Not a word from Lewis.

Wolff woos in vain

The job Toto Wolff wants most is that of the new Bernie Ecclestone (minus the suspended prison sentence), or Chase Carey, if you prefer – running the entire shooting match, in other words.

I’m told this idea is toast.

Liberty Media, incidentally one of the most rapacious owners the sport has ever had, including its predecessor CVC Capital Partners, wants someone from outside Formula 1 to be their chief executive when Stefano Domenicali leaves.

Wolff has spared nothing in trying to woo Liberty boss, golf-mad Greg Maffei, who loves and admires him, in fact, but ultimately it will get him nowhere.

Words of Wisdom from Magic Murray

Legendary F1 commentator Murray Walker had a voice that stops you in your tracks

This week would have been Murray Walker’s 100th birthday.

I went to see him at his house in Hampshire when I started writing about F1. He was as kind and generous as one could have hoped, and there was, of course, that voice that stops you in your tracks – a brilliant instrument – ​​that the very few of the best broadcasters possess. Think O’Sullevan and Coleman, to name just two of my favorites.

Murray told me one thing, and a view that I later shared: Melbourne is a special sporting venue. “I love Australia,” he enthused. “Turn on the taps and they work. »

One last remark. Murray Walker was as famous in Australia, where he commented on V8 supercars, as he was in England. Think Richie Benaud in reverse.