Singapore GP declared F1's first 'heat hazard' race please log in to view this image IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Championship leader Oscar Piastri of McLaren wearing a cooling vest during practice for this year's Spanish Grand Prix By Andrew Benson F1 Correspondent in Singapore Formula 1's governing body has declared this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix a 'heat hazard' race. The FIA's ruling, triggered because temperatures are predicted to exceed 31C amid high humidity in the tropical environment, means drivers could be using cooling vests during the race. Using the vests is not mandatory but teams must fit the system to their cars to ensure any drivers not using them does not gain an advantage by having a lighter car. The Singapore Grand Prix marks the first time a race has been designated as a heat hazard under a new rule that was introduced this year. However, it will not be the first time drivers have used the vests - teams have been testing them intermittently through the year. Mercedes' George Russell, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), tried it out in Bahrain earlier this year and said on Thursday: "Not everybody finds the top comfortable, but I think some find it more comfortable than others, and of course over time you'll be able to adjust it to your own preferences. "But the concept is good, and when you're racing in 90% humidity and the cockpits are getting on for 60C, it's a bit of a sauna inside the car, so I think we all welcome it." Williams driver Carlos Sainz, also a GPDA director, said that the FIA's decision to declare a heat hazard was "fair". "Only hot is not too bad for us," Sainz said. "We have that, for example, in Hungary where it gets really hot but it's not humid. "Humid on its own is not too bad at all if it's not too hot. But when it's 28C, 30C degrees plus humid, that's when it gets to Singapore levels and it's tough." Singapore has long been renowned as the toughest grand prix because of the combination of heat, humidity, the length of the race, which runs close to the maximum two-hour limit, and the bumpy track surface at Marina Bay. How to follow Singapore Grand Prix on the BBC Published 1 hour ago 'Very excited' - Dunne leaves McLaren programme Published 48 minutes ago Why was the heat hazard rule brought in? The idea of a driver-cooling system was intimated after the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, when heat and humidity left several drivers on the brink of collapse. A number of drivers needed medical attention after the race, Frenchman Esteban Ocon vomited in his helmet, and Williams driver Logan Sargeant retired because he could not cope with the conditions any longer. The drivers have had a mixed response to the vests, with some feeling they are uncomfortable and not especially effective. Sainz said: "Teams are managing to make it work better and better every time we run it. At the beginning, we had it to work more or less for half an hour. Hopefully now the whole system can work at least for an hour. "It's a two-hour race. I've done it 10 times in Singapore. If it breaks or it doesn't work, I'm not worried. I'll do the race and jump out fresh like I always do. But if it works, it's better, because then you suffer a bit less." Sainz said he had used the system in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix earlier this year, and it lasted about 15-20 minutes. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso said: "The system works. The shirt itself, the material is a little bit thicker with all the system on it so it is less comfortable. It is a trade-off, it is less comfy when you drive it but it is a little bit cooler." How does the system work? Temperatures in the cockpit of an F1 car can be more than 40C, and drivers are wearing several layers of fireproof clothing in addition to a balaclava and helmet, so overheating is a serious concern. The driver wears a fireproof vest fitted with a tube through which a cooled liquid is fed by a pump. The rules say that the system should last for the entire race, but not all teams have managed to make it run for that long. And the complication is that when the system stops working, it can make the drivers hotter than they would otherwise have been. That's because the vest fitted with the cooling system is an insulator and the liquid can end up hotter than the ambient temperature because of the temperature of the cars. Teams have approached the design and fitting of the system in different ways depending on their individual cars. Some have fitted the cooling device and pump at the front of the chassis, others by the side-impact structures beside the cockpit and others inside the chassis. Regarding its overall comfort, Russell said that the tubes on the front and the back of the vest are connected and "when you go through high-speed corners in the G-force, you're feeling these tubes on the side of your ribs". He added: "I think that was definitely an issue for me at the beginning. They made some changes, it has been improved, but as I said, still you have these tubes going around your ribs, which is not the perfect place for it. There's not many high-speed corners here in Singapore, and high lateral G-forces, so I don't think it would be a major issue."
Ben Sillyman likely to get voted back in unopposed . *** From Autosport *** The hopes of any candidates dislodging incumbent FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem in December look all but gone, as it appears none of his rivals will be able to submit an eligible team. Ben Sulayem is seeking a second four-year term as FIA president during the governing body's General Assemblies held on 12 December in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Alongside the 63-year-old Emirati, three other potential candidates have publicly come forward, including former F1 steward Tim Mayer, Swiss racer Laura Villars and Belgian TV presenter Virginie Philippot. All candidates have from 3 and 24 October to submit their bids, which includes naming a presidential list - a team of nominees that will run alongside them to fill the roles of president of the senate, deputy president for automobile mobility and tourism as well as the post of deputy president for sport. The list also includes seven vice presidents for sport; two from Europe and one each for the remaining regions - MENA, Africa, North America, South Africa and Asia-Pacific. Any candidates for the above positions may only appear on one presidential candidate's list and they must all be eligible candidates for the World Motor Sport Council. That list of eligible WMSC member candidates has now been made public, and crucially it only contains one potential representative from South America - Fabiana Ecclestone. Ecclestone, the Brazilian wife of former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, is Ben Sulayem's current VP for the region and is on his re-election team as well, so therefore no other presidential candidate will be able to put together a presidential list that satisfies all criteria . Candidates for the WMSC can be put forward by the relevant ASN of their country. On 13 June the FIA sent a letter to all FIA members, informing them of a 19 September deadline to submit such candidatures for the council. With that deadline now lapsed, there is no other mechanism for members to apply to the council, and thus no other way for a South American representative to be picked by a presidential ticket. Per the FIA's published guidelines, candidates for the WMSC must be under 75 years of age on the day of the election, and there must not be anything in the record of each of the candidates for the WMSC that calls into question their professional integrity. What that means is that either Mayer and the other presidential hopefuls failed to recruit a South American official to fill the post of vice president in time, or that such a candidature was put forward but rejected by the authorised FIA Nominations Committee. Ben Sulayem's South American kingmakers Due to confidentiality agreements, the FIA cannot disclose such details, but events from earlier this year provide clues as to why the writing appeared on the wall all along for Mayer, whose team has been contacted for comment. In May, rally legend Carlos Sainz Sr announced an interest in running for the presidency. Sainz ultimately didn't follow through on those intentions, but the Spaniard's high-profile bid did attract a lot of media attention. Several weeks later a collective of 36 Spanish-speaking FIA members as well as automobile clubs from the Americas sent a joint letter to Ben Sulayem expressing support for his re-election campaign. Fabiana Ecclestone also signed the letter. But more importantly, the letter was signed by every single president of the 11 South American federations, showcasing that any rival to Ben Sulayem would face an uphill battle to convince one of them to switch allegiance - which was necessary in order to put forward a WMSC candidate willing to join a different presidential ticket. As it happens, Mayer recently toured the continent as he travels around the world to garner support for his campaign. "I recently spent a few, extremely busy days in South America visiting our member clubs in Chile, Bolivia and Argentina," he wrote on the campaign website. "The welcome was warm in each country and the topography is individually spectacular, but my visit further reinforced FIA Forward’s opinion that the FIA needs to provide unique solutions to each region’s unique challenges, whether those are in sport or mobility." But with Ben Sulayem also enjoying strong support in Asia and Africa, Mayer had already foreshadowed when he announced his candidacy that beating the president at his own game of keeping member clubs on his side would be tricky. At the election, each of the FIA's 149 member countries has an equal vote, split between the sport and mobility sides. "We are in a situation where it's very important for the member clubs that they see the value, that they see that they can get value,” Mayer said in July. "To be honest, Mohammed has been quite good at explaining to them what he's doing for them. But he needs to do it top to bottom, not just here and there for member clubs. It needs to be universal within the organisation.” Ben Sulayem's first term proves divisive In the aforementioned letter of support, Ben Sulayem was credited by his supporters for providing strong leadership and improving the FIA's financial outlook following the COVID-19 pandemic. But the former rally driver has also faced criticism over his governance style. In March this year Motorsport UK chief Dave Richards accused Ben Sulayem of consolidating power, writing in an open letter that "the governance and constitutional organisation of the FIA is becoming ever more opaque and concentrating power in the hands of the president alone". The letter followed a string of high-profile resignations and sackings within the FIA, including Mayer as well as CEO Natalie Robyn, technical director Tim Goss, sporting director Steve Nielsen, compliance officer Paolo Basarri, and Deborah Mayer, the president of the FIA's Women in Motorsport Commission. The biggest upheaval followed in April when Ben Sulayem's running mate - deputy president for sport Robert Reid - resigned over what he felt was a "breakdown of governance standards" and "critical decisions being made without due process". Reid was replaced as deputy president by Malcolm Wilson, the founder of rallying powerhouse M-Sport. There was also pushback in June against changes to the FIA's statutes and ethics code that Ben Sulayem initiated, which have increased the president's influence on the FIA Senate membership and made the vetting process for WMSC candidates more rigorous. At the time the FIA stated those changes, which were voted through by a super majority at its General Assembly in Macau, were "designed to further strengthen processes around governance and confidentiality" and will "grant the Nominations Committee more time to examine the eligibility criteria of candidates, and help to ensure consistency and rigour in the electoral process."
