F1 declares Heat Hazard at US GP

The FIA has declared a Heat Hazard for Formula 1’s upcoming United States Grand Prix, following on from the first alert in Singapore.

Temperature at the Circuit of the Americas may reach up to 34C during the sprint race, crossing the 31C threshold for a Heat Hazard. A high of 31C is forecast for Sunday.

The main consequence is drivers will be given two options: either they wear a cooling vest or their cars will be fitted with the corresponding 0.5kg ballast.

The drivers who opted to wear the vest during the Singapore Grand Prix reported that it was effective during an amount of time which varied from five laps, according to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, to the first hour of the race, as recounted by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, wearing a cooling vest

Photo by: Ferrari

“It was physical, but I was expecting more if I'm honest,” Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto said of the Singapore race, usually considered among the toughest on the calendar.

“I don't know if the cool vest has something to do with that – but definitely everyone was saying that it was going to be the toughest race of the year and I don't know, it just didn't feel like that. But it was tough still.

“I turned [the vest] on for the first 10-15 laps and then after that it gets quite hot, the vest, so it's better to turn it off.”

Practical reasons for drivers not to use the vest include the inconvenient network of tubes in an already cramped cockpit, as well as the risk for the device to malfunction and be at best ineffective.