Within the wake of final yr’s Qatar Grand Prix, the place drivers suffered within the warmth and humidity, the FIA responded with the introduction of recent guidelines to enhance cockpit cooling.
Step one occurred this yr with groups allowed so as to add one other opening on high of the chassis, in order that on scorching weekends the drivers may have extra contemporary air within the cockpit.
This was a easy resolution that was additionally straightforward to undertake on the vehicles within the quick time period, whereas work continued on the governing physique to discover a more practical resolution for the long run.
Final November, after months of analysis and testing, the F1 Commission approved plans for a proper driver cooling kit.
Now, Autosport can reveal extra particulars concerning the goals, growth and technical background as to how the system produced by American firm Chillout Motorsports work.
The US firm is concerned in tasks past racing, as its know-how extends to different sectors resembling medical, navy, maritime, aviation and automotive.
Nevertheless, it has an excellent motorsport pedigree, creating know-how to handle the temperature of Components E batteries throughout recharging, in addition to options to enhance driver cooling for numerous classes such because the WEC and NASCAR.

Driver Cooling system – Chillout Motorsport
Picture by: Chillout Motorsport
Making a system for F1
The event of a system appropriate for F1 started between early final yr when Chillout Motorsports was approached by the FIA to see if its system may very well be tailored for F1.
Its know-how, known as Cypher Professional Micro Cooler, must be redesigned and miniaturised to adapt to the calls for of grand prix racing.
The cooling system that can be seen on the vehicles is made up of two most important components: a field, the place the miniaturised elements (a micro-compressor, an evaporator and a condensation unit) are positioned to maintain the liquid cool, plus a fireproof T-shirt to be worn by drivers underneath their swimsuit (see above photos).
On the shirt are a collection of tubes, about 48 metres lengthy in whole and organized in such a manner as to wrap across the driver’s chest and again. These tubes are related to the field, so the fluid (a combination of air, water or an answer of sodium chloride, potassium chloride or propylene glycol) will move to chill the motive force.
As defined by Charles Kline, the corporate’s founder, probably the most complicated half concerned the certification of the flame-retardant shirt since, for security causes, the necessities from the FIA are strict.
“Even earlier than they reached us, we had been already engaged on an FIA-approved model of our cooling shirt,” he advised Autosport. “We’ve been engaged on it for 3 years. It is a actually difficult mission as a result of the FIA guidelines are so stringent in regard to fireplace security. We did not wish to simply make a product that was FIA accepted. We wished one that truly was extremely useful and light-weight, that drivers would nonetheless wish to put on.”
This was probably the most complicated a part of the mission, as a result of the tubes needed to be useful but additionally needed to meet the fireplace resistance measures imposed by the FIA. This meant utilizing 4 several types of materials to ensure the proper conductivity, flexibility and resistance.

Driver Cooling system 1 – Chillout Motorsport
Picture by: Chillout Motorsport
“That was the problem as a result of earlier than there was no solution to produce the shirts with out doing two layers of fabric. So that you had been sandwiching the tubes in between two shirts, principally,” added Kline.
“Ultimately, after years of testing tons of of various supplies, we had been capable of give you a system for our tubes that’s conductive but fireplace resistant and bendable at each temperature.
“It sounds straightforward, however the tubes get laborious once they get chilly, they usually get too delicate once they get scorching. In the event that they catch on fireplace, they soften.
“It looks like an easy activity, and it seems to be like we simply have tubes sewn onto a t-shirt. However making these tubes work, plus be light-weight, comfy, conductive and naturally most essential for the FIA, secure, was a fancy problem.”
An interim resolution for 2025
For F1 groups, it is a utterly new system, which had by no means beforehand been examined on single-seaters.
This added challenges to the mission, particularly for the reason that present vehicles weren’t developed to bear in mind further house for the cooling system components. That is why a little bit of creativeness additionally had for use to discover a appropriate location for the system.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Staff
Picture by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Pictures
The problem for Chillout Motorsports was not a lot redesigning the field containing all the mandatory instrumentation to chill the liquid, however fairly the place to position it within the automobile. The field consists of the identical components utilized in different classes, however was revised by making a carbon fibre construction that may very well be tailored to the necessities of the groups. Actually, every crew has totally different necessities and this required quite a lot of collaboration, even when solely to work out the place to place the field.
“The cooling programs are for us very straightforward,” defined Kline. “The one laborious half for the cooling programs is becoming them within the chassis, as a result of groups have by no means had this method earlier than.
“There is not any room in these vehicles for something. We’re quickly looking for house in order that they will do correct testing within the vehicles, behind pedal bins, in sidepods, behind the seats, anyplace.”
A minimum of for the primary yr, every crew could have an answer tailored to its particular person wants, which can be why the 2025 laws present extra freedom within the positioning of the system.
The load matter: Why the 5kg of the regulation will not be ‘actual’
Behind the realisation of this method lies one other fascinating side: how it may be powered. This led the FIA to ensure a rise within the minimal weight of the automobile by 5kg when this system is for use.
The system itself is gentle, because it weighs slightly below 2kg, whereas for the mesh it provides round 300g. However the FIA’s additional 5kg allowance is expounded to the best way the system is powered, through an exterior battery pack, because it was determined to not change the electrical configuration of the vehicles till 2026.
This allowance can be modified sooner or later as a result of the following era of vehicles will incorporate the system from the off – and it may be powered by the automobile’s personal programs.

2026 Components 1 guidelines
Picture by: FIA
How efficient will the system be?
The laws stipulate that, as soon as the ambient temperature exceeds 30.5C, the FIA can implement the usage of the system by notifying the groups 24 hours earlier than the beginning of the dash race or race.
Contemplating that this should be accomplished within the garages throughout race weekends, will probably be mandatory for mechanics to have the ability to simply set up the system even between classes, one thing that engineers will definitely bear in mind when designing the vehicles.
Kline added: “They want one thing that is not complicated, and that is not going to take quite a lot of time. That is additionally why I am trying ahead to 2026, as a result of will probably be a modular set up that may be accomplished in a matter of minutes.”
The concept finally is to make two or three totally different variations that groups can choose from – which is able to assist cut back prices.
Eradicating warmth from the motive force not solely goals to unravel the first drawback, but additionally helps the physique itself to perform higher with much less stress and thus ought to cut back errors.
Applied sciences resembling these are additionally used on navy jets and in astronauts’ fits, to scale back the physique warmth and make the mind carry out higher, since there isn’t a margin for error.
The system appears quite simple with the cooling tubes, however it’s a complicated course of designed round how the human physique works.

Logan Sargeant, Williams Racing
Picture by: Williams F1
“Ninety-five % of your blood flows via the floor of your pores and skin,” Kline defined. “Probably the most environment friendly manner for us to seize that warmth vitality, and for this reason your entire physique sweats, is to tug that warmth away through the use of our shirts.
“Our shirts have about 48 metres of cooling tubes sewn onto them. The significance of that’s we wish to put as a lot floor space in your physique as we are able to. We will not simply put three or 4 metres of tubing in.”
The cooling additionally must be pitched on the proper stage, so it doesn’t make drivers too chilly.
“We may run the system at 0C, however if you try this, it stops the blood move to your pores and skin, as a result of your physique’s making an attempt to guard itself from hypothermia. We are able to make the motive force shiver from chilly, however that is not what we’re making an attempt to do,” Kline stated.
“So the trick is to make the system work the very best – which is round 15C. That manner it is very chilly, feels superb, but it surely’s simply earlier than the purpose of the place your physique stops the blood move via your pores and skin.
“We’re making an attempt to make it extra like air-con, the place they do not give it some thought. They do not really feel it. They’re simply extraordinarily comfy, their coronary heart charges are decreased considerably and their respiration is slowed.
“The drivers love this method. It was nice to listen to one of many Ferrari drivers [Charles Leclerc] say that he needs he may run this method in each race.”
On this article
Gianluca D’Alessandro
Components 1
Be the primary to know and subscribe for real-time information electronic mail updates on these subjects
Subscribe to news alerts