Max Verstappen issues complaint over George Russell backed FIA decision

F1 rivals Max Verstappen and George Russell have disagreed over an FIA decision that arose at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Last Sunday’s race in Singapore was the first F1 race to be declared a ‘heat hazard’, surpassing the index that combines high temperatures with high humidity.

What this means for F1 teams and drivers is that, according to FIA regulations, they must fit their cars with cooling systems and drivers will have to wear a mandatory cooling vest from 2026 onwards.

For 2025 only however, it is up to individual drivers to wear a cooling vest, with the likes of Verstappen rejecting the feature at the Singapore GP.

"I haven't used the vest. I'm also not intending to use it. Because I feel like this needs to be the driver's choice,” Verstappen explained to the media during the Singapore GP weekend.

"From the FIA side, they will always throw it on safety. But then we can talk about a lot of stuff that can be improved on safety, including pit entries in certain places. I think that has a bit more priority than a vest in the car.

"I don't like it. I don't like the tubes that are on you and your body with the belts that go next to you. Then they can say it's a bad design. I disagree. It just needs to be an option for the drivers to choose.

"Some like it, some don't. And that's fine. It should be a personal preference. I know, of course, this year we can [choose]. But probably next year they don't want to do that. And that is not the right thing.”

Russell disagrees with Verstappen

Russell on the other hand, was in favour of the new cooling vest, and said: “I'll run it. I ran it in a couple of races this year. It isn't the perfect solution yet. And the fact is, you have no testing, you can only test it in a race environment.

"So, the race in Bahrain, I was happy with it. I ran it in Saudi as well. I was happy with it. But, of course, here [Singapore] it is much hotter. The dry ice will melt faster.”

The FIA’s mandatory rule on cooling vests has split the grid, and according to The Race there was strong debate over their use next year at Friday’s driver briefing in Singapore.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc also agreed with Verstappen that the cooling vests should not be enforced on drivers, while Carlos Sainz was happy for the vests to be voluntary again because those don't wear it will have a 'disadvantage in the race.'

Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s single-seater director, is adamant that the technology should work, and revealed conversations were ongoing about whether to make the vests voluntary again in 2026.

"We are open to the idea of potentially making it voluntary for next year, not mandatory, but we want to do that once we have discussed with the GPDA [Grand Prix Drivers' Association] a few more medical reports and so on," Tombazis said.

"We will do it based on some slightly more robust facts, rather than just getting a vote in a drivers' meeting, which isn't the best forum to do that."

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