‘Not really an excuse’ - Rosberg has little sympathy for Stroll's struggles

The Aston Martin racer was among several drivers who picked up time penalties for exceeding track limits in Qatar, with Stroll’s penalty costing him a points finish as he was shuffled down the order after crossing the line in P9. 

Stroll blamed his struggles on “ridiculous” conditions as drivers battled extreme heat and took aim at the track limits rules at the high-speed Losail circuit. 

But 2016 world champion Rosberg, who had slated Stroll’s behaviour and performances earlier in the weekend, pointed out that other drivers were able to avoid penalties. 

“It was a decent race, perhaps, for him,” Rosberg told Sky. 

“But still, it’s an extreme way of stating it - that he says the last 25 laps he was almost passing out on high-speed corners.

“I mean, I believe him that is just crazy, crazy difficult out there.

“But, nevertheless, all the other drivers managed to do without penalties – or many of them – especially the best ones out there today.

“So it’s not really an excuse, I think, to still have so many mistakes to get the penalties that he did.”

The Canadian admitted he had been on the verge of passing out at times and revealed he also suffered from blurred vision. 

The FIA has vowed to take action after several drivers were forced to seek medical attention after the race, which took place in temperatures in excess of 30 degrees and high humidity. 

“In my day, we did a test with a doctor with a device,” Rosberg added. 

“We did a simulation of a race like that in those temperatures and it was deemed that it was not a risk to one’s health.

“Of course, it was an extreme exhaustion. It was extremely difficult. So I wonder, I mean, they would need to analyse it. Certainly, it was borderline. They lost like three kilos, so six pounds of body weight in those one hour and 45 minutes that they were racing. That’s extreme, it’s like 5% of your body weight, which really really is so tough and it’s such a torture.

“So that’s something they’re gonna have to look at.”