SportsCatch
EN

FIA declares heat hazard at Monza as Italy's sixth heatwave grips Italian GP weekend

The FIA has triggered its official heat protocol for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, with temperatures forecast to exceed 35°C across all three days. Drivers must choose between wearing a cooling vest or carrying an extra 0.5kg of ballast on their cars.

1 min read
FIA declares heat hazard at Monza as Italy's sixth heatwave grips Italian GP weekend
Share

The FIA has declared a formal Heat Hazard for this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza, activating additional cooling procedures after forecasts showed temperatures will comfortably exceed the 31°C heat-index threshold across Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Italy is enduring its sixth heatwave of the 2026 summer, with the region around Milan and Monza bracing for highs above 35°C. Under Article B1.5.10 of the FIA F1 Regulations, the governing body is required to act once its official weather service predicts the heat index will surpass 31°C at any point during a race weekend.

“In accordance with Article B1.5.10 of the FIA F1 Regulations, having received a forecast from the official weather service predicting that the heat index will be greater than 31.0°C at some time during the race at this competition, a Heat Hazard is declared,” the FIA confirmed in its official statement.

As a result, drivers face a choice: wear a cooling vest during sessions or have the equivalent 0.5kg of ballast added to their car. The two options are designed to maintain parity — the cooling vest weighs 0.5kg, so drivers who opt out carry the same mass in ballast rather than gaining a weight advantage.

The FIA had previously signalled its intention to make cooling vests mandatory, but backed away from that position following pushback from drivers who raised concerns about comfort and the effectiveness of the devices. They remain optional for now.

According to the FIA’s weather data, Friday’s second practice session is expected to see ambient temperatures reach 36°C, with 35°C forecast for Saturday qualifying. Sunday’s race, which gets underway at 15:00 local time, is set to begin in 33°C conditions — well above the threshold that triggered the protocol.

The heat declaration adds another variable to a weekend at one of Formula 1’s most iconic venues, where physical demands on drivers are already significant given Monza’s high-speed, low-downforce configuration.

Share
{# Sitewide native fullscreen interstitial — our own bet-CTA card blown up to a takeover (replaces the SDK overlay). The shared card animations + countdown load once, AFTER the interstitial markup, so the countdown script's first tick sees this card's node too (the in-read card, in
above, already exists). One include covers both surfaces. #}