“We’re highly paid athletes”: Lewis Hamilton stands against Formula 1 easing race experience for drivers

Lewis Hamilton spoke against the FIA's plan to implement an active cooling system in F1 drivers' cockpits. This aero feature was discussed after several races that took place during extremely hot conditions in 2023, especially the Qatar GP.

The 2023 F1 Qatar GP was one of the most demanding races of the season. The temperature stayed above 31°C throughout the race, causing drivers to suffer inside the cockpits of their F1 cars. After the race, it was confirmed that Williams' Logan Sargeant withdrew from the race since he was passing out, Alpine's Esteban Ocon vomited inside his helmet and was taken to the medical center after the race, and Lance Stroll also admitted that he passed out for a few seconds while racing.

According to Motorsport.com, the FIA investigated the entire situation and came up with a second cooling inlet placed on top of the nose at the front of the cockpit. Not only this, but they will also test an experimental active cooling system on one car.

In the Hungarian GP post-race press conference, third-placed Lewis Hamilton was asked about this cooling system implemented by the FIA. Hamilton looked surprised by the question and admitted that he was unaware of the new system.

Lewis Hamilton then spoke against it and stated that there was no need for a comforting feature inside an F1 car. He added that F1 drivers are highly paid sportsmen who need to train extremely hard for all kinds of conditions. He concluded by boldly saying that F1 drivers do not need an air conditioning unit inside their cockpits.

"Well, firstly, I didn't know that. And it's not needed. This is Formula 1. It's always been like this. It's tough in these conditions. And we're highly paid athletes. And you've got to train your ass off to make sure you can withstand the heat, ultimately. And it's tough. It's not easy, especially when you go to places like Qatar and Singapore. But I don't think we need an AC unit in the car," Hamilton said.

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Lewis Hamilton's take on extreme hot conditions during Qatar GP in 2023

Back in 2023, Lewis Hamilton took a bold stance on extremely hot conditions at the Qatar GP. Speaking to the media before the US GP, the Mercedes driver said that though he crashed out of the race on Lap 1, he was well aware of how hot it was. He added that he has raced in hotter conditions, mentioning Malaysia as an example.

"I'm going to be controversial as always. Obviously, I didn't do the race, so didn't get to feel the pain that the drivers felt. But I have obviously been here a long time. Malaysia was much hotter than that race and I know what it's like to lose four or more kilos in the race and barely being able to stand afterwards," Hamilton said. (via Crash.net)

Lewis Hamilton then said that F1 was an extreme sport and that drivers need to train harder to withstand these harsh conditions.

"My feeling towards it is... this is an extreme sport. You don't have marathon runners who are passing out after the marathon, saying you have got to make it shorter. This is an extreme sport and we are paid very highly for what we do, and from my perspective when I've not been feeling great at the end of the race, I've just got to train harder and that's how it's been for me," he added.