F1 drivers say FIA’s new cooling vest “not ready to be used” yet
More work is needed on a new technology to keep drivers cool in hotter races like Bahrain.
Oscar Piastri and Esteban Ocon believe FIA’s new cooling vest for 2025 is “not quite ready to be used” yet, but have praised the governing body for working on a solution to combat heat.
Following a hot and humid Qatar GP in 2023 which saw then-Williams driver Logan Sargeant retire from the race due to a heat stroke, the FIA began investing in new technologies to help drivers cope with extreme conditions.
This has resulted in the introduction of a new cooling vest for 2025, which is made available to drivers whenever the ambient temperature reaches a certain level during a grand prix weekend - reported to be 31C.
The wearable technology uses several metres of tubes which pump cooled fluid around, helping drivers to regulate their body temperature.
However, ahead of the first two Middle East races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the drivers are not quite satisfied with the current version of the vest.
“I think it still has a bit of fine-tuning to go,” said McLaren driver Piastri. “I think it’s been a good process with the FIA and the manufacturers with the cooling system, and I think it will be a big positive for us.
“But for me personally, it’s not quite ready to be used. There’s been a lot of good work going on, but I think Sunday, given it’s a night race and it looks a bit cooler, I’m not sure we’ll actually trigger the heat hazard with the FIA anyway.
“So if you want to use it, it will come with a weight penalty on Sunday. I think there’s still some work to go, but it’s going in the right direction.”
The new-for-2025 cooling vests are completely optional at the moment, but the FIA will make it mandatory for drivers to wear them in hotter races next year.
Ocon explained that not only is the technology in an early stage at the moment, but the cooling vest is so bulky that Haas may have to rebuild a new seat so he can fit inside the car.
“I think it’s a very good initiative the FIA has done for us to be able to fix some of the issues we had in Qatar a couple of years ago,” he said.
“It’s a good initiative, but unfortunately, I can’t quite use it at the moment.
“The way the seats are designed and some of the vests—it’s very different to what we are currently using. It’s much more bulky and a lot bigger. We would need to basically redo a complete seat and I’m not even sure that doing that would still be suitable in corners.
“Good initiative, but I think they need a bit more thought behind it, or from our side as well, on how we could accommodate it better. I think this week we’ll be OK.
"Next week [in Jeddah] might be another story. So we might have to use it next week. Let’s see.”
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll also echoed the sentiments of Piastri and Ocon, saying the cooling vests are “not very comfortable” to wear.
“It still needs some work, that’s the reality,” he said. “Depends how desperate you are to be cool in the car. I think it’s going to come down to that in the really hot races if the product doesn’t improve.
“It’s not very comfortable, but yeah, get a few degrees out of it, so we’ll see.
