Max Verstappen and George Russell disagreement emerges over FIA decision

Max Verstappen and George Russell held a difference of opinion when it came to a key F1 decision made by the FIA.

Last time out at the Singapore Grand Prix, the drivers battled hot and humid conditions with the race the first to be declared a 'heat hazard' by the FIA.

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

For 2025 only however, it was up to the individual drivers whether 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.”

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Russell and Verstappen split on cooling issue

Russell on the other hand, disagreed with Verstappen's stance and was in favour of the new cooling vest.

“I'll run it. I ran it in a couple of races this year," the Brit explained.

"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, was 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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