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F1 drivers wearing a cooling suit is optional in 2025, but compulsory from 2026

Formula 1 drivers will wear cooling suits in the 2025 F1 season during high-humidity races like Qatar, Singapore and Saudi Arabia. It will help them from heat stroke.

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Venkatakrishnan
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F1 driver will have new race suits with cooling system from this 2025 F1 season.

F1 driver race suits Photograph: (Instagram)

Formula 1 is launching new driver cooling race suits in 2025 for tracks like Losail and Marina Bay. Every year, F1 drivers and teams struggle during highly humid races like Qatar, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. FIA launched new wearable cooling shirts that keep them cool under extreme heat conditions. This device will be tested this season at races like Singapore and Qatar. Heat plays an important role in F1 driver's life as they operate under extreme heat conditions inside the cockpit.

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During the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, Logan Sargeant withdrew from the race due to extreme heat. Esteban Ocon vomited on his helmet and Lance Stroll passed out during some part of the race. To help the drivers, FIA and F1 came up with a new cooling suit that is 500 g in weight. The device contains 50 metres of tubes with a cooled fluid inside it. It also has some sensors and microprocessors that keep the temperature under control during races.

New AC Suit for F1 Drivers

The 2026 F1 cars will be designed to accommodate the cooling suit. For the 2025 season, drivers will have the option of wearing AC suits. FIA still has to decide on making it compulsory from the 2026 season, considering drivers' health and safety under extreme heat. But the 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton feels the other way. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell suffered the most during the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix as they had high heat stroke.

But even then Hamilton finds the suit unwanted for F1 drivers. He said, “This is Formula 1. It's always been like this. It's tough in these conditions. We're highly paid athletes. And you've got to train your arse off to make sure you can withstand the heat, ultimately. It's tough. It's not easy, especially when you go to places like Qatar and Singapore. But I don't think we need an AC unit in the car.” The 2026 F1 season will be the year of innovations and new technology added to the Formula 1 grid.

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Formula 1 Lewis Hamilton F1 Singapore Grand Prix Qatar Grand Prix