Red Bull driver Sergio Perez achieved a fine third place finish at the US Grand Prix at the weekend and the magnitude of the feat has only grown since the chequered flag with it emerging that he was feeling the effects of dehydration for much of the race.

'Checo' as he is well-known in the paddock, is in good form at the moment with him achieving back-to-back top three finishes at a crucial time for his team as they look to reel in Mercedes in the Constructors' championship standings.

Indeed, he'll be looking forward to the next Grand Prix in his native Mexico but he'll certainly hope that it's going to be a little less taxing on his body, with his drinks bottle failing at the beginning of the race and him having to drive on in hot conditions without any fluids.

Added to that, Perez revealed after the chequered flag that he had woken up feeling a bit poorly on Sunday morning and so, clearly, he was up against it health-wise in the thick of the action with him suffering some pretty scary symptoms when you're travelling at around 200 mph:

“It was crazy, yes. I wasn’t feeling well this morning and from Lap 1 onwards I had no drink at all. It was extremely tough, already from Lap 20 I was completely gone,” he said. “I had no strength, I was losing strength on my hands, strength on my feet, the vision as well was getting quite uncomfortable, and it was just a surviving mode: trying to keep up.

“It was a time that if I had bad moment, I wouldn’t be able to control the car, so it was the longest race of my life, no doubt about that,” he said.

Formula 1 drivers are gladiators at the end of the day and it's testament to Perez's fitness and conditioning that he was able to cope, just about, without drinking for the entirety of the race.

He clearly got put through the mill at the Circuit of the Americas, though, which makes his third place finish even more impressive.