In another effort from the FIA to make driving a Formula One car even easier, a rule was introduced for 2025 to make the drivers more comfortable in hot conditions. If the temperatures during the race weekend are expected to reach 31 degrees celsius, then a heat hazard will be declared forcing the teams to fit cooling systems for their drivers.
Of course this will add weight to the car and so the minimum limit has been raised by 2kg for practice and Sprint qualifying and by a total of 5kg for Sprint races and Grand Prix.
A driver cooling system is “defined as a system, the sole purpose of which, is to provide additional cooling for the driver”, and was specified as a fireproof shirt which allows cooled fluid to be pumped around the vest through a series of tubes.
Extreme heat in Qatar 2023
The system includes a pump, plumbing and a thermal store which generates cooling. This may be as simple as a large ice block. The regulation was developed in response to the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix when the extreme heat left number of drivers requiring medical attention after the chequered flag on Sunday.
George Russell reported after the race that the temperature in his cockpit had exceeded 50 degrees celsius and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon revealed the heat was so excessive that he’d vomited in his helmet during the race describing the conditions as “like a sauna.”
Logan Sargent, then driving for Williams retired from the grand Prix on lap 41 after suffering from intense dehydration and his team mate Alex Albon was taken to the medical centre reportedly suffering from extreme heat exposure.
Other drivers were picture lying on garage floors in the air conditioning in an effort to revoker after the race. “Today we probably found the limit,” said McLaren’s Lando Norris. “Sad we had to find it that way with some people ending up in the medical centre or passing out. A pretty dangerous thing.
Verstappen: “way too hot to drive”
“On TV it probably doesn’t look that physical but when you have people who end up retiring it is too much; for the speeds we are doing it is too dangerous. It’s something we need to speak about because it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
Even the no nonsense unflappable Max Verstappen said it was “way too hot to drive” whilst GPDA spokesman George Russell described the conditions as “absolutely brutal” and that he felt close to fainting.
“I felt ill during this race. It was insane how hot it was. It was like you were inside an oven,” he added. “I sometimes train in saunas and you push your body to the limit and you get to a point where it’s too hot and you’re like, ‘I want to get out.’ That was the feeling from about lap 12.”
McLaren’s new driver, rookie Oscar Piastri, who finished second, said it was “definitely the hardest race I’ve had in my life. It was hot and basically flat-out the entire time.” And herein lay one of the problems which created this extreme scenario.
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Track configuration. issues in Qatar
In practice Pirelli were concerned about the durability of the tyre compound range they had brought to Qatar and so the track limits were re-drawn to slow the cars down through the high speed. The issue was the kerbs in turns 12 and 13 which were believed to be causing significant damage to the tyres and so the FIA painted a tighter line and fake kerbs on the Losail circuit to ensure the drivers stayed away from the original track limits.
Further, during the race the drivers were mandated not to use their tyres for more than 20 laps which meant there was no tyre management and the drivers raced flat out from start to finish. The lack of tyre management during the race meant the drivers were pushing hard for the entirety of the race,
Yet there was one extenuating circumstance which prevailed above all else and it was the timing of the Qatar Grand Prix on the 2023 F1 calendar. The inaugural race in 2021 was held in November when the temperatures were cooler, there was no race in 2022 due to the FIFA World Cup. When F1 returned in 2023 for some inexplicable scheduling reasons related to the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, the weekend in Qatar was held in October, the second hottest month of the year in that particular region.
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Scheduling stupidity b y the FIA
From 2024 the Qatar Grand Prix is now the penultimate race on the calendar and the weekend before the season finale in Abu Dhabi, just 500km away as the crow flies.
The mandatory nature of the teams fitting mandatory cooling systems when a ‘heat hazard’ is declared by the FIA was dropped following a number of drivers complaining about discomfort when testing their particular cooling solutions. So the use of a cooling system is voluntary.
However, to compensate those who wish to use the cooling system, those who do not must fit the system and carry ballast.
The rules state: “In such circumstance, all other components, including any cooling medium, of the driver cooling system must be fitted.
More pitstops?
“In addition, the difference in mass between the driver’s personal equipment normally used and any items of a driver’s personal equipment that form part of the system must be compensated by the fitting of 0.5kg of ballast in the cockpit.”
Unbeknown to the outside world, George Russell gave the Mercedes cooling vest and solutions a trial run at this season’s Bahrain Grand Prix. “It was definitely very noticeable when I turned on the cool water,” he said. “I think at the start of the race, it was about 16°C pumping around my body, which feels quite nice when you’re in a cockpit that’s 50°C-plus.
“Of course there’s always room to improve. But for us as a team, they’ve been putting in so much hard work and had the confidence that the system would work that I wanted to give it a whirl. So far, so good.”
One further change for the Singapore Grand Prix is that the FIA have upped the pit lane speed limit as they did in Zandvoort in an effort to introduce more strategic options for the teams. Last year just two drivers made more than one switch of tyres being, Daniel Ricciardo and Kevin Magnussen. Both finished in the bottom three in the final classification.
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Max Verstappen’s 2025 season has been a rollercoaster of turbulence, recovery and unexpected calm. Following an unstable start to the season, involving a driver swap, rumours of a transfer and the dramatic dismissal of Christian Horner, Red Bull’s star driver is back to his winning ways. Two consecutive victories in Monza and Baku have boosted his confidence, but the championship itself looks beyond his reach.
In a candid interview with Sky Sports, Verstappen admitted that the last few months had been far from easy: “Naturally, it’s been turbulent,” said the four-time world champion.
“But now things are very calm in the team, the atmosphere is good, and that’s how it should be in the end.” However, Verstappen was quick to emphasise that Red Bull’s performance had not met his expectations: “We are not satisfied with our performance this year.”…. READ MORE
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
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