P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Formula 1 titans Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have criticised plans by the FIA to enforce mandatory use of the cooling vest from 2026, arguing for driver’s freedom to choose. The cooling vest made its debut in 2024, as an experiment to counter the extreme temperatures seen in Qatar in 2023, where drivers came close […]
Formula 1 drivers Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have expressed their disapproval of the FIA’s plan to mandate the use of cooling vests starting from 2026, advocating for drivers’ freedom to choose their safety equipment. The cooling vest was introduced in 2024 as a response to extreme temperatures in Qatar in 2023 where drivers were close to fainting, but its acceptance among drivers remains divided between safety necessity and overreaching regulation. A current consultation on the mandatory use of cooling vests for 2026 has sparked conversations in the F1 paddock, especially after a heat alert was issued during the Singapore race due to high temperatures. Despite teams enhancing cooling methods on cars, drivers are currently not obliged to wear the cooling vest, a dynamic that may change in the future. Both Verstappen and Hamilton have criticized the cooling vest mandate, arguing that it should remain optional for drivers to decide based on their comfort and safety concerns. Hamilton particularly emphasized that the choice of wearing a cooling vest should not be mandated, citing the absence of heat-related fatalities in F1 races to challenge the necessity of such a regulation.
