Alonso requested team to throw water on him after being ‘burned’ by seat
Extreme conditions in Sunday’s race left several drivers requiring medical attention, leading to the event being described as “too dangerous” by McLaren’s Lando Norris.
A combination of temperatures which were in excess of 30 degrees, intense humidity, high-speed corners and a minimum three-stop strategy due to emergency measures amid tyre safety concerns, made for a physically-demanding race.
Alonso saw a request to have water thrown on him during his first pit stop denied because it would have broken F1 regulations.
His Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll sought out an ambulance to receive treatment for dehydration after the race, revealing his vision became “blurred” in the closing stages.
“I think for Lance [Stroll] and myself, both of us, we were struggling a little bit with temperature in the seat on the right-hand side,” two-time world champion Alonso said.
“I got like burned in the first 15 laps so I even asked on the radio if they could throw me some water or something at the pit stop, which apparently is not allowed.”
Williams driver Logan Sargeant retired because he could not cope with the conditions, while his teammate Alex Albon was treated for acute heat exposure in the medical centre.
Mercedes’ George Russell admitted he thought he was going to faint due to the “ brutal” conditions, which were labelled as “too extreme” by race-winner Max Verstappen.
Alpine's Esteban Ocon revealed he threw up in his helmet several times.
