Formula 1 drivers can opt not to wear new cooling shirts designed to regulate their temperatures during Grands Prix this year before they are enforced for 2026.
In an exclusive by Autosport, the devices will be optional for drivers this year, due to the way in which they will be fitted to the cars.
However, they will be made mandatory next season as per the introduction of the brand-new regulations to which all teams and drivers must adhere.
The devices, which are shirts that encompass 50 metres of cooling fluid, are pumped through via a box within the car, which is also adapted especially to be worn by drivers without detriment to their fireproof clothing.
This also minimises the use of space within the car, which was why these particular devices were chosen, as opposed to a potential instalment of ersatz air conditioning.
F1 cars for new regulations mean cooling devices as standard
The FIA said in a statement that “finalisation of the driver cooling system following work carried out between the FIA and the Formula 1 teams, supported by changes to define when such systems must be used” and has now been approved by the F1 Commission.
31 degrees ambient temperature is what the FIA has already determined as the threshold for censors being placed around an F1 venue, and it is believed that when this temperature is reached, teams will be obliged to fit the systems.
But as they will be retrofitted, drivers have the choice of opting in or out of using them and will be required to carry 500g of ballast to eradicate the possibility of any competitive advantage resulting.
For next season, the mandatory nature will be due to the devices being powered by a new arrangement of the electrical systems within the new regulation-worthy cars.
The concept of the implementation came from the criticism that was drawn in the aftermath of the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, in which a number of drivers suffered under extreme conditions, including Logan Sargeant, who was forced to retire a healthy car due to extreme heatstroke.
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