Russell would use a cooling vest at almost every F1 race, but wants it to work better

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Archive photograph: George Russell · Chinese Grand Prix qualifying, Shanghai 2026 · 2026-03-14Archive photo · 2026-03-14 · Liauzh · CC BY 4.0

George Russell said he would use a cooling vest at nearly every race and called for teams and the FIA to improve it. Max Verstappen said he would not use one in Singapore.

From the GPBeat newsroomPublished · 09 Oct 2026, 19:41 · 1 min

George Russell would use a cooling vest at almost every Formula 1 race, but says the system needs to work better. He sees a clear benefit in it and would leave it off at colder events such as Las Vegas.

Cooling vests often work for less than a full race distance. Russell said teams and the FIA should work together to make the system function well, noting that designing and manufacturing the hardware takes staff who could otherwise be assigned to other tasks.

Max Verstappen takes a different view. In a separate Singapore interview, he said he would not use the vest there, citing cables that he says limit his movement and saying he did not need it.

Russell said the vest system is open source and suggested teams could copy a version used by another driver; he said that option was being considered.

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