Before yesterday’s media sessions began, the FIA’s F1 race director Rui Marques declared a heat hazard for Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix.
The heat index is expected to be above 31C (87.8F) sometime during the race.
So what does this all mean?
‘Heat Hazard’ is a relatively new term in the F1 world. Many drivers experienced physical symptoms after a hot Qatar GP in 2023, with temperatures around 32C (90F) and humidity at 70 percent. After the race, the FIA said it “prefers to take material action now to avoid a repeat of this scenario” — and that action was in the form of Heat Hazard declarations and driver cooling aids. According to the sporting regulations:
💬 “At the start of any sprint session or race for which a Heat Hazard has been declared, all components of the driver cooling system must be fitted. The system must be functional and available for use by the driver, meeting the specific provisions provided.
“However, any driver may elect not to wear any items of personal equipment that form part of the driver cooling system. In such circumstances, all other components must be fitted.
“In addition, the difference in mass between the driver’s personal equipment normally used and any items of a driver’s personal equipment that form part of the system must be compensated by the fitting of 0.5kg of ballast in the cockpit.”