A decision at the latest F1 Commission meeting gave the systems the green light after initial concerns were raised following last year’s Qatar Grand Prix.
That event saw high ambient temperatures and humidity, which made for oppressive conditions in the cars.
Most drivers described it as the toughest race of their career, while a number were physically ill from the experience.
Speaking with selected media, including Speedcafe, in Abu Dhabi last year, FIA’s head single seater Nikolas Tombazis explained analysis had gone into driver cooling in the wake of the extreme heat witnessed in Losail.
“What we still haven’t put in as regulation but is a broad intention to have when the weather conditions exceed a certain level, to then get us, the FIA, to declare that the race is in those conditions and then to give an extra bit of weight for the cars – something like probably two kilos – which will be mandatory,” Tombazis explained.
“And it’s mandatorily used for the purpose of cooling the driver.
“That will enable solutions such as cooling vests and these sorts of things to be fully investigated.
“We have wondered whether it would be best if we regulate what exactly would have to be fitted and we feel that if we start trying to standardise a system, the addendum and all of that would be quite a slow process.
“We feel if we give the teams, ‘you have two kilos, you must use it for this purpose’, it will be in their interest to do that because that will keep the drivers cool and focused and not lose any performance.”
That process has now concluded with the FIA confirming that technical changes will be introduced for 2025 to allow for driving cooling.
“The commission has approved a range of technical changes for the 2025 season including the introduction of a driver cooling kit when heat hazard gets declared following encouraging test results,” it announced off the back of an F1 Commission meeting in Geneva on Wednesday.
Also discussed were matters pertaining to the formation of the grid when cars are withdrawn, noting the gap that was left by Alex Albon’s Williams in Interlagos.
The end-of-season rookie race was also further discussed with plans to continue conversations into 2025.
Sustainability initiatives and their impact on the cost cap, and the revised regulatory framework for 2026 were also key talking points.
