Formula 1 drivers are properly divided on cooling vests and whether they’re redundant in 2026, ahead of the fourth ‘heat hazard’ weekend of the year in Singapore.
The FIA has declared Singapore a ‘heat hazard’ – triggered by estimated temperatures exceeding 31°C – meaning teams can fit cooling devices to their car that will pump liquid through a vest to help cool the driver in the cockpit.
But the vast majority of F1 drivers won’t actually use them.
For some, like vocal cooling vest proponent George Russell, that’s simply because his Mercedes team hasn’t been able to commit the resources to develop an efficient version for its 2026 car.
Russell says he’d use it “every weekend”, bar really cold weekends like Las Vegas, if he could.
“I definitely see a benefit in it, I really like it. I guess just collectively between the teams and the FIA we need to find a way to make it work,” Russell said.
“I spoke a little bit last week about the cost cap; that was actually incorrect because it is excluded [from the] cost cap, but still we need the people to design the hardware, to manufacture the stuff, and that’s people you’re taking resources away from something else.
“It’s all open source, I’ve spoken with other drivers who say their system works really well, so there’s nothing stopping you [from] just copy-pasting what somebody else has, so that’s very much under consideration right now.”
Team-mate Kimi Antonelli was put off by negative experiences using it last year, but is open to using a refined version.
“The first time it didn’t work as long as we hoped for,” Antonelli explained. “The second time, the pump system failed. It was in Austin, and I did the whole session with the system pumping the water at 50 degrees, so I suffered heat stroke after the session, it wasn’t very pleasant.
“If we get to a point where it’s developed and we have the confidence that it’s going to work every time and for the time that we need to, I think it’s very nice because it definitely keeps you cool.
“But now that there’s so much uncertainty, we’re not so sure. Imagine on Sunday, you put it on, and after three minutes it doesn’t work anymore and just hot water is even worse.”
Of all the teams, Williams appears to be the cooling vest development leader right now.
“If there’s one thing as a team we’ve done well on development this year is the cooling vest, which has definitely given Alex [Albon] and me a good time inside the car and we’re very happy to have it,” Carlos Sainz said.
A common complaint of the system is that the liquid that’s pumped around the vest gets hot too quickly, but Albon said the system in his Williams meant driving was actually “quite comfortable” until his car expired after 41 laps in Malaysia.
“I think the Mercedes generally runs quite hot… you can tell the drivers struggle a bit more with that car than other cars,” Albon said.
“I do think it’s not just about one driver dealing with it better than the other. There’s a lot of differences between what teams have, different packaging under their seats and whatnot, and the way that they put their airflow through the system, so it’s not fair to say that some drivers can just deal with it better.
“If other drivers experienced the cool suit that we have, or maybe other drivers could feel how bad it can get for some drivers, and then realise that a cooler suit can make such a big effect on that heat hazard that they feel.
“I’m all for cool suits. I think they’re a good addition to what we have.”
A performance gain?
Some drivers believe cool vests can help performance in the most extreme heat-affected races – the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix still being the standout example for most, with cockpit temperatures nearing 50°C.
“It’s so difficult to quantify because you can never quantify how much laptime you’re losing because your body is well and truly overheating,” Russell said when The Race asked about the performance impact.
“But I spoke with Alex Albon after the race in Qatar in 2023 and he felt like he was hallucinating during the race and he just couldn’t breathe out there and you would have done anything to cool down and there was definitely huge performance in it.”
Albon said Qatar 2023 was “the only time I could truly say I’m definitely not driving as quickly as I could have”. His then Williams team-mate Logan Sargeant had to withdraw from that race due to heat exhaustion.
Albon added: “I remember that race itself. I challenged myself in the last few laps to be like, ‘okay, now push and see what you can do that doesn’t feel as physically limited’, and I did go faster.
“Just the mindset of thinking you’re too hot is already something. In our head, it’s like, if you’re thinking about it being too hot, you’re not thinking about how are you taking that corner, what are you doing in terms of energy harvesting or tyre management, whatever.
“So for us, it’s in the details, but it’s making sure that your brain’s not thinking about, ‘get me out of here’.”
Esteban Ocon thinks the potential performance gains the cooling vests bring are underappreciated.
“It’s been a massive performance gain for the physical aspect of things,” Ocon said.
“Of course, it hasn’t worked the whole race since we introduced the system. It lasts for like 40 minutes, and then it’s just hot fluid that keeps going on because it’s so hot in the car.
“You want to make it perfect, you want to make it bulletproof, but yeah, it’s up to the teams to do it better if they want to.
“But I don’t think everybody realises how much better it is for an athlete to be at the right temperature to perform.”
Cooling vests ‘should be banned’
Even if the technology improves, there are some drivers who believe cooling vests are unnecessary. Isack Hadjar went as far as saying, “I think it should be banned because it’s supposed to be tough”.
Team-mate Max Verstappen said “For me, it’s not needed. Yes, it’s hot, but it’s not a sauna.
“With this cooling vest, you have these stupid cables in your car, so you’re just limiting your movement as well. I don’t need it.
“Even if it would work for one and a half hours, like cool, don’t need it. It doesn’t work anyway for one and a half hours.
“I’ve never, I think, in any category [seen] it has worked for one and a half hours.”
Franco Colapinto thinks it’s “good to be able to choose [but] personally, I don’t like it.
“I don’t feel it’s comfortable. I don’t like how it feels, and yeah, I just don’t wear it.”