What F1’s First ‘Heat Hazard’ Race Really Means for Singapore GP

Many Formula 1 drivers dread going to Singapore, not because of the difficulty of passing on the bumpy street circuit, but because of the extreme heat and humidity they must face. This weekend’s weather predicts even hotter and more humid conditions than usual, which is why the FIA has declared it a “Heat Hazard” race—the first of its kind.

First up, rain. The weather forecast predicts a 40% chance of rain on Friday, followed by 20% for Saturday and Sunday. While that’s about normal for Singapore during this time of year, the potential for a downpour obviously increases the already-thick humidity. Where the real danger lies, and the reason why the FIA had to step in, is in the overwhelming heat. Again, the forecast calls for 32 degrees Celsius on Friday and Saturday, and 33 on race day; that’s 91 and 92 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you live in Texas or Arizona, that’s just a typical day for y’all, but combined with the predicted 85% to 90% humidity this weekend, that severely escalates things for the drivers, making it feel like 125 degrees or hotter, per NOAA. And that’s just what it would feel like hanging out outside while drinking a cold beverage. The average temperature of an F1 car’s cabin is around 120 degrees, but in places like Saudi Arabia or Singapore, it can escalate to 140. Drivers must endure these conditions for two hours while remaining physically and cognitively sharp. Needless to say, these high temps push them to the brink of passing out from heat stroke.

Heat Hazard Procedure

To prevent this from happening, the FIA has activated its Heat Hazard protocol, which triggers when temperatures exceed 30 degrees Celsius. But what does that mean? Well, there’s not a lot to it, but it’s quite important. Firstly, the FIA requests that all 20 drivers consider wearing a cool suit throughout the weekend. However, they can’t force them to.

Racing cool suits have been around for decades, and I even had one back in the early 2000s when I raced shifter karts across the southern states, where it wasn’t uncommon to spend an entire day under the sun in temperatures above 110 degrees. F1 cool suits are obviously way more advanced and effective.

Produced by U.S.-based Chill Out Motorsports, the FIA-spec cooling units feature two major components: a box that houses a micro-compressor, evaporator, and condensation unit, and a wearable shirt with an impressive 150 feet of tubing running throughout a fire-proof, long-sleeve shirt. As Motorsport.com expertly explains, the tubes transfer a coolant mixture from the box to the shirt.

Back to the detail where the FIA can’t force the drivers to wear this cool suit, even if it’s apparent that it’s the right thing to do. The reason for that is the same reason most things are the way they are in F1: performance. The cooling unit that needs to be fitted to the car weighs approximately 4 pounds, while the suit, tubing, and other electrical connections can add up to roughly another pound. In a sport where everything is pushed to the extreme, throwing on a few pounds just for the sake of “comfort” is frowned upon.

The FIA’s way of pressuring the drivers to wear the cool suit, per se, is by mandating that an 11-pound ballast be added to the car of every driver who opts out of the cool suit. This way, drivers who opt to wear the system to stay cool aren’t penalized for doing so; likewise, it makes the others feel like they might as well wear it if they have to tack on the weight anyway.

But even then, some drivers have previously opted to skip the equipment and just wing it. There have been reports of (previous-gen) units failing mid-race, leaving drivers worse off with liquid that’s actually heating up throughout the race. In contrast, others have said that the shirt is too uncomfortable, making them feel bulky and even more compressed inside the already-tight cabin.

F1 drivers are incredibly fit, and just about all of them engage in some sort of Singapore-specific training plan ahead of the GP, where they can lose up to eight pounds of body weight throughout the race due to sweating. This typically involves doing high-intensity cardio in hot and humid conditions, such as boxing, jumping rope, and even stationary biking for entire race durations in steam rooms and saunas.

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