During the recently concluded Qatar Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso suffered from a semi-burn under the extremely hot conditions in Qatar. To reduce the pain, the Aston Martin driver even asked for help, which the FIA denied. Now, Mike Krack, the team principal of the British team, came up to share how the burn appeared and how the team decided to save weight instead of helping Alonso.
Due to extreme heat in the Middle Eastern country, multiple drivers faced health issues, and Alonso was one of them. The Spanish driver, during lap 15 of the race, shared that he felt a sensation of semi-burn and was uncomfortable continuing.
Fernando Alonso says by lap 15 he got semi burn on his right hand side, because of his hot seat, he asked for a water throw during pitstop but it wasn’t allowed so the team couldn’t do anything pic.twitter.com/b8RO2NU5PJ
— Aston Martin Formula 1 News (@AMF1News) October 8, 2023
Nevertheless, the Asturian finished the race and took home some valuable points for the team. Interestingly, Krack in his statement about the burn, said that this has been a recurring problem for the driver.
Krack revealed why Aston Martin did not save Alonso from the burn
Krack, in his interview with Motorsport.com, shared that Aston Martin tried to solve the problem that occurred with Alonso in Singapore already. However, they failed to do it as it reappeared again in Qatar.
Despite knowing the cause of the burn, the team decided not to act on it, which in the end, made Alonso suffer. Talking about this, the Aston Martin boss said, as per Dutch Formule1nieuws, “There are hydraulic lines and ECUs nearby. These all heat up, and you try to insulate the chair from them.”
We gave it our all on the track. 9 more points for the team and we will keep fighting. Thanks to the entire team that worked under extreme conditions all weekend to give us a competitive car. Time to recharge and get ready for the next trip with 3 consecutive races.… pic.twitter.com/bQHFTGl1W8
— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) October 8, 2023
Following this, he said that the team did not want to solve this problem and add weight to the car. He stated, “But you also don’t want active cooling because that adds weight.”
Alonso performed in Qatar despite the burn
Fernando Alonso, despite suffering from the burn, managed to complete the race. However, he started the Qatar GP race from P4 but finished in P6.
With this, he added some valuable points for the team as Aston Martin is struggling to keep up with McLaren’s incredible pace. The Asturian has been the lone fighter for the British team, as his teammate Lance Stroll has been a massive disappointment for fans as well as for experts.
Nevertheless, Alonso hopes to come back with his team next season after slipping to P4 from P2. As things stand, they are more likely to finish in P5 as McLaren is expected to overtake them very soon.
