NASCAR racer Parker Kligerman has sided with Lewis Hamilton's verdict on the excessive heat issues suffered by the drivers at the 2023 F1 Qatar GP.
The race in Qatar was a peculiar one. The drivers were forced to do a certain maximum number of laps on a set of tires due to some measures which meant drivers were pushing flat out throughout the race.
To make matters worse, temperatures soared in Qatar and the high-speed nature of the track meant the conditions went beyond the threshold of acceptable. This led to American driver Logan Sargeant retiring from the race due to heat exhaustion. There were other drivers that faced some issues as well.
Alpine driver Esteban Ocon fell sick early in the race and puked inside the car. While Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll revealed he was passing out on the fast corners.
Lewis Hamilton, who had retired from the race on the very first lap due to an accident, had a contrarian view in which he claimed that all drivers needed to do was adapt to conditions by training harder.
NASCAR driver Parker Kligerman has come out in support of the statement as he posted on X (formerly Twitter):
"Thank you Lewis."
This was not the only moment where Kligerman talked about F1 recently, as he also touched on the track limits situation during the race weekend in Austin.
In Formula 1, at all times at least one tire has to be within the white lines. If it isn't, it leads to track limits infringement and a subsequent penalty. Kliegerman rubbished the rule as he said:
"I've been a professional racecar driver for 15 years. I've been watching F1 since 2000. I am sorry, where did this car exceed "track limits"?? I really, really, really do not understand who can watch this and feel like this makes any sense."
What did Lewis Hamilton say about the excessive heat in Qatar?
Talking to Sky Sports, Lewis Hamilton talked about how at the end of the day, F1 is an extreme sport and the drivers need to focus on improving and adapting to the conditions.
Hamilton said:
"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."
The Brit added:
"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."
It's interesting to see how Lewis Hamilton's strong voice goes across the racing categories and helps others engage as well.