There are those who believe the modern Formula One drivers have it too easy when compared to the drivers of yesteryear. Safety is an obsession for the FIA such that today’s drivers are less likely to be injured than a member of the public driving to the superstore.

The consequence of each safety improvement to the cars means adding more weight, with the current beasts now topping 900kg, some 50% more than just twenty years ago.

The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix sparked a new area of concern for the FIA health and safety officers as temperatures inside the cars reached 50 degrees centigrade forcing Logan Sargeant to retire from the race.

 

 

 

Qatar 2023 sparks health and safety concerns

Post the chequered flag Alpine’s Esteban Ocon revealed such was the heat he had vomited inside his helmet describing the conditions as like a “sauna.” Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll claimed after the race he was “passing out in the car” and Williams Alex Albon was left too weak to climb out of the car.

Grand Prix Driver’s Association director George Russell told Sky Sports, it was “by far the most physical race I’ve ever competed in.” Back in the Place de Concorde in Paris, the FIA technocrats went to work on a solution. The result, cooling vests for the drivers which were initially mandated for any race weekend in 2025 where the temperature was expected to exceed 31 degrees celsius.

Yet the reasons for the drivers suffering extreme heat in Qatar were exceptional. Firstly the scheduling of the race was poorly done as the Las Vegas Grand Prix debuted on the calendar. The Grand Prix at the Losail circuit was scheduled for early October, the second hottest month in the region. Now the race is held the weekend before the Abu Dhabi finale, and give such issues have never been experienced in the UAE and Qatar being just 500km away, the problem has been resolved.

Further during that fateful weekend, there were concerns over the integrity of the Pirelli tyres which resulted in the track being reconfigured by painting kerbs on the asphalt to ensure the drivers remained well away those which were lacerating the tyres.

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Unusual circumstances in Losail

Further during the race it was mandated that drivers could not use tyres for longer than 18 laps, which meant they were pushing flat out each and every lap in the extraordinary heat in Qatar.

The result, the cooling vests which are not universally liked by all. The FIA back tracked on making them mandatory, but insisted those refusing to wear the contraption with its tubes and dry ice store carry extra ballast during qualifying and the race.

Pole sitter George Russell claims her will wear the suit. “I’ve run it in a couple of races this year,” he said, but admitted “it isn’t the perfect solution yet. The fact is you have no testing. You can only [usefully] test it in a race environment.

“At the race in Bahrain, I was happy with it. I ran it in Saudi as well, I was happy with it. But of course, here it is much hotter, the dry ice will melt faster.”

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George Russell to wear cooling suit

Mercedes in particular have suffered from excessive heat in their drivers’ cockpit since the regulation change in 2022 yet Russell believes they’ve gone some way to mitigating it.“The team have made a big improvement with the car cooling itself,” he said. “We recognised some major issues of hot air seeping into the cockpit, massively exceeding 60 degrees [Celsius] at certain races. Just moving a few electrical boxes and hydraulic lines that are running at 120 degrees around your feet has a major impact on the heat.”

World champion Max Verstappen who starts on there front row alongside the Mercedes driver has not tried Red Bull’s version of the cooling vest and stated yesterday he would not be using it during the Singapore Grand Prix. “I feel like this needs to be a driver choice,” he said. “Of course, from the FIA’s side, they will always throw it on safety.

“But then we can talk about a lot of stuff that can be improved on safety — including pit entries in certain places. I think that has a bit more priority than a vest in the car because I don’t like it.”

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Verstappen refuses to wear cooling vest

Whilst the use of the cooling suit is optional this year, Verstappen fears the strong arm of F1’s regulator’s will make it mandatory in the future. “I don’t like the tubes that are on your body with the belts that go next to you,” revealed Max. “They can say it’s a bad design, I disagree, it just needs to be an option for the drivers to choose. Some like it, some don’t, and that’s fine. It should be a personal preference.

“I know this year we can [choose] but probably next year they don’t want to do that, and I feel that is not the right thing.”

Other motor racing series do have cooling systems for the drivers and in GT endurance racing once the temperature rises two degrees above the ambient temperature it kicks in. Verstappen continued: “The problem is that in GT cars or any other cars, prototypes, you have a bit more space to put stuff or at least put the cables. In our cockpits, it’s so narrow there is not enough space and that is also a little bit of a problem.

“Plus, where are you going to put the dry ice? The cars are not designed really to have this extra kind of space, and within 15, 20 laps, it’s anyway gone, and then you have hot water.”

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Piastri undecided

Championship leader Oscar Piastri who will start third, said on Saturday evening he hadn’t decided whether he would wear the suit in the Grand Prix or not. “I used it yesterday,” said the McLaren driver. “I think the problem with the suit is it’s great when it works, but if it fails, it’s even worse than not having it.

“Like George said, there’s no testing to really try it out. There is winter testing, but I think everything’s going to feel pretty good when it’s 10 degrees. So I still don’t know if I’m going to run it. I think the initiative is good, but like Max said, having the choice to use it or not is important because there are benefits and downsides.”

The 2026 cars will be a massive 25kg lighter but should the FIA mandate the cooling systems much of this gain will be lost. Their pursuit of lighter more nimble cars has been a farce with the new regulations and it may be 2030 before we can say goodbye to the current breed of behemoth. racing machines and return to smaller and lighter F1 racing cars.

 

 

 

Brundle discusses things he’s heard from Horner

Christian Horner, once synonymous with Red Bull’s dominance, appears to be making the most of his unexpected sabbatical from Formula 1 by plotting a comeback. There is still a buzz of speculation around the paddock that the ousted Red Bull boss isn’t done with the sport that defined his career. According to Martin Brundle, the ever-observant voice of Sky Sports, Horner’s conversations suggest that he is not just messing around. He’s looking for a way back in, on his own terms.

Brundle, who recently caught up with Horner, shared a few intriguing snippets from their conversation. Apparently, the 51-year-old Brit isn’t the type to settle for a desk job. Since being shown the Red Bull exit earlier this year, Horner has reportedly been exploring various options, such as founding his own team, joining an existing one or creating something entirely new, in true Horner fashion. Talks with Haas and Aston Martin have been mentioned, though nothing seems to have progressed beyond polite conversations and mutual curiosity….. READ MORE