Kimi Antonelli says F1 cooling vest failure left him with heatstroke

Kimi Antonelli has opened up on the downsides of cooling vests in F1, revealing that he once got heat stroke when the system failed.

That, obviously, is the polar opposite of the point of a cooling system, and is a reminder of why a number of drivers are still wary of using the vests in competition.

The vests have a number of thin tubes stitched into them, through which water is cycled, and theoretically cooled. The word 'theoretically' is important here because, as Antonelli noted, sometimes the system fails and the drivers are stuck with tubes of water at 50 degrees Celsius or higher covering their upper body under their race suits.

That happened to the young Italian at a race last year, which he called 'not very pleasant' and revealed was the reason that he has dedicated himself to training hard to the point of being able to deal with the heat without the assistance of the vest.

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Antonelli had 'two very bad experiences' with cooling vests

That, it turns out, is a good thing – because Mercedes chose not to take up a chunk of their cost cap developing a cooling vest for the 2026 season, so he (and team-mate George Russell, a big advocate of the vests) has not choice in the matter.

"I don't worry," he told the media this week in Singapore, "because when I worried last year, I had two very bad experiences.

"The first time it didn't work for as long as we had hoped, and the second time, the pump system failed. I did the whole session with the system pumping the water at 50 degrees, so I suffered a heat stroke after the session. It wasn't very pleasant.

"Ever since, I've been like, I'm going to train hard, so I don't have to use it for the weekends."

Antonelli wants more cooling vest development

"If we get to a point where it's developed, and we have the confidence that it's going to work every time, and for the time that we need it, I think it's very nice because it definitely keeps you cool.

"But now there's so much uncertainty, that we're not so sure. Imagine on Sunday, you put it on, and after 30 minutes, it doesn't work anymore, and hot water is even worse.

"So on that side, I just want to be sure it's going to be fine, and that it's going to be well developed. When we have the confidence, then maybe I will put it [back on], but right now I will just train to be ready for any conditions."

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