Jim Boardman
@jimboardman

Gianni Infantino (current president of FIFA) on the grid before the F1 Qatar Grand Prix. A reminder of how sport can lose its way when the people running it are so blinded by money they forget about the sport they are meant to be looking after.



Today one driver retired early because he was so ill from the heat, another threw up in his helmet, another spoke about being worried he was going to faint. One driver spoke of how everything “looks blurry” for the last 30 laps because blood pressure is dropping. Reports that a number of drivers had to go to the medical centre afterwards to get help with rehydration.

These are drivers who train intensively for the races (sometimes in saunas!) and know full well the dangers. Most of the drivers asked said it was by far the most difficult race they’d ever been in, because of the heat. 38 degrees Celsius outside, at least 50 degrees in the cockpit. One driver speculated it may have been as high as 80 degrees Celsius in the cockpit.

Part of the problem was because the track wasn’t suitable for the sport, meaning the tyres were only safe to use for 18 laps maximum, not helped by kerbs that are frowned upon in the sport. It meant drivers did far more laps at absolute top speeds than they usually would.

Time will tell if there are any long term effects for the drivers, one of whom remained in the medical centre beyond the time where press were still doing interviews. If they are all ok it’s by pure luck.

Cars going up to 220mph while drivers are throwing up or on the verge of fainting, with blurred vision, on a track with dangerous kerbs, using tyres that the manufacturer has to warn the organisers about, is just asking for trouble. They are so lucky they didn’t get it.

The race will be held six weeks later next year, temperatures will be more like they were during the World Cup, but they’re not in an air conditioned stadium, wearing shorts and getting regular drinks breaks, so it’s not like that’s going to be enough to cure the problem.

The FIA and F1 have serious questions to answer, because from the stories being told - and no doubt many more that are yet to be told - it’s a miracle there weren’t any serious incidents during the race.

Without huge changes they should not be coming back to this track, changes that might not even be possible. No amount of money would make up for what could have happened today.

And all of that is without getting into other reasons for being wary of holding sports events in this country.

Can the powers-that-be see through the dollar signs and put it right? I suppose we’ll find out.