‘Heat hazard’ rules invoked for Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix
Formula 1 chiefs have designated this week’s Singapore Grand Prix the first “heat hazard” race under new rules designed to protect drivers’ wellbeing.
Temperatures for Sunday’s race at Marina Bay are expected to exceed 31C which, combined with the tropical humidity, has triggered the measures.
It means that teams will be required to fit all cars with cooling vests, a measure conceived after the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix left drivers vomiting and close to passing out.
The heat hazard rules were introduced this season and teams have been trialling the vests, which use cold liquid pumped through tubes but have not always lasted for a whole race.
“Teams are managing to make it work better and better every time we run it,” said Williams driver Carlos Sainz, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association.
“At the beginning, we had it working more or less for half an hour. Hopefully now the whole system can work at least for an hour.
“It’s a two-hour race. I’ve done it 10 times in Singapore. If it breaks or it doesn’t work, I’m not worried. I’ll do the race and jump out fresh like I always do. But if it works, it’s better, because then you suffer a bit less.
“Only hot is not too bad for us. We have that, for example, in Hungary where it gets really hot but it’s not humid. Humid on its own is not too bad at all if it’s not too hot.
“But when it’s 28C, 30C plus humid, that’s when it gets to Singapore levels and it’s tough.”
Alonso and Russell back cooling vests
Drivers are not obliged to wear the vests but all cars must carry them in order to ensure all cars carry the same extra weight.
Conditions in an F1 cockpit typically reach 40C and drivers have to wear layers of fireproof clothing, a balaclava and race helmet.
“The system works,” said former world champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin.
“The shirt itself, the material is a little bit thicker with all the system on it so it is less comfortable. It is a trade-off, it is less comfy when you drive it but it is a little bit cooler.”
Mercedes driver George Russell, who tested the vest earlier this year at the Bahrain Grand Prix, gave the technology his endorsement.
“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,” he said.