Sainz 'nearly had to vomit' during Australian Grand Prix

Carlos Sainz Jr was almost driven to vomiting due to a defect on his Renault during the Australian Grand Prix. An issue in his car's drinks system meant Sainz was force-fed water during the early part of Sunday's race, causing him to feel unwell.

Sainz finished Sunday's race in the 10^th and final points-paying position, having qualified ninth.

However, it later transpired how much of a struggle the race had been for the Spaniard.

"I had the drinks bottle pumping water through my mouth since lap one and I was drinking and drinking and drinking and I just got full of water in my stomach," he said.

"I wasn't feeling good with the stomach with all the water inside, going from side to side it was very difficult.

"At some point under the Safety Car I nearly had to vomit, so from there on it was just about making it to the finish. It is a bit unfortunate.

"With the g-forces we have this year, having the stomach full of water, moving from side to side, I don't know if it was a stomach cramp or what, but I wasn't comfortable."

Working as part of Sky Sports' coverage team, 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg offered a glimpse into just how perilous a mid-lap drink can be.

"A dribbling drinks tube can ruin your entire race," Rosberg said. "It happened to me once, there are so many buttons on an F1 steering wheel that I hit the wrong one, in the tunnel, in Monaco.

"At the time you had to push the tube into your mouth to drink, but it wasn't in, so it went everywhere, all over my visor at 320kmph in the Monaco tunnel, I couldn't see where I was going. That was a shocker."