Drivers not fans of the new cooling system: "It's not quite ready to be used"

It's one of the big new features of the 2025 season... and yet, you haven't seen it yet. And you might not see it right away. This year, the FIA ​​introduced a new cooling kit, available to drivers when the temperature rises above 30°C, with a cooling suit. While wearing this special suit isn't mandatory in 2025—it won't be until 2026—it's not exactly to the liking of drivers, who, for now, prefer to do without it.

This cooling system consists of a vest, worn next to the skin under the suit, with nearly 50 meters of tubing to pump a cooling liquid, stored in a box housing a microprocessor and the technology needed to maintain relatively cool temperatures in the torso. This liquid then circulates through the driver's suit. This device was introduced by the FIA ​​as part of the analysis carried out after the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, which was run in very trying conditions and where several drivers experienced discomfort and suffered from dehydration.

A vest "bulky" according to Ocon

There are several approved systems that have been developed by the FIA ​​and the teams. This weekend in Bahrain, with temperatures hovering around 30°C, the drivers will have the opportunity to wear this system for the first time this season... but that seems highly unlikely. Indeed, they aren't the biggest fans of this new kit, which is considered restrictive both in terms of weight and ergonomics and practicality.

"I think there are still some adjustments to be made, has explained Oscar piastri at a press conference on Thursday in Sakhir. I think the FIA ​​and the manufacturers have done a good job on the cooling system, and I think it will be very positive for us. But for me personally, it's not quite ready to be used. There's been a lot of good work, but I think on Sunday, given that it's a night race and it looks like it's going to be a bit cooler, I'm not sure we'll trigger the heat risk with the FIA ​​anyway."

"The way the seats are designed and some of the vests are very different from what we currently use. It's much bulkier and much bigger, detailed as for him Esteban Ocon, on the same wavelength as the AustralianWe would need to redo a complete seat and I'm not even sure it would still fit in the corners. So it's a good move, but I think they need a little more thought, on our side as well, on how we could make it fit better."

As a reminder, if a driver decides not to wear this cooling kit, he will be handicapped by a 500 gram ballast to be placed in the cockpit, in order to prevent the teams from using this ballast for technical purposes for the performance of their carOn Sunday, for the night race, temperatures are expected to be around 25°C.

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