'An average person would not survive five minutes in the cockpit'

Lewis Hamilton was clearly struggling after the Hungarian Grand Prix. The world championship leader was still on the podium, but staggered on his feet and barely joined in the podium festivities.

Dizzy and tired Hamilton

In the Mercedes Race Debrief, Mike Elliott discussed Hamilton's condition after the race. "I think you could see that he was struggling on the podium," says the Mercedes technical director. The British driver was suffering from dizziness and fatigue symptoms and was sent to the doctor as a precaution. Later Hamilton said he thinks it is the after-effects of his coronavirus infection.

"An hour later I saw him and by then he was doing a lot better and I know he has continued to recover since then," Elliott reassured fans. He also explained what caused Hamilton to struggle so much after the race."When you've never been around cars like this, it's very difficult to understand the situation the drivers are in."

Not surviving in the cockpit

Elliott tried to explain it as best he can in the video. "Because the air passing by the car is close over the ground, that air is closer to the track temperature than the air temperature. Let's assume that during the race it was around 40 or 50 degrees, besides the fact that the humidity was high. On top of that, the drivers are sitting in a hot cockpit with all kinds of electrical components and hydraulics next to them."

"An average person like you and me wouldn't be able to survive five minutes in the cockpit, let alone an entire race," Elliott continued. "So it wasn't surprising that Lewis was in such a state afterwards. Hopefully he'll recover well. At least he has the summer break now and I'm confident he'll come back strong for the second half of the season."