Russell calls on FIA to act as cost cap leaves him without cooling vest in Malaysian heat

George Russell will compete without a cooling vest at the Malaysian Grand Prix after Mercedes opted to direct its limited cost-cap budget toward car development, leaving the Briton to endure track temperatures that have already touched 60°C at Sepang.

The race, relocated from Bahrain due to the conflict in the Middle East, has prompted the FIA to declare the weekend a heat hazard, giving drivers the option to wear a vest that circulates cool liquid to regulate body temperature during sessions. Several teams on the grid have integrated the system into their cars, but Mercedes concluded the expense — which falls under the $215 million annual cost cap — was better spent elsewhere.

“I was sweating sitting on the beach in my shorts and flip-flops,” Russell told the Daily Mail. “Let alone with fireproof underwear, suit and helmet. It will be like sitting in an oven.”

Russell said the team was transparent about the trade-off. “The team asked me, ‘Look, we can develop it, and we can put the money towards it but at a cost when we are trying to develop the car within the budget cap,’” he explained. Mercedes arrived in Malaysia with a seven-component upgrade package expected to improve its pace by around three tenths of a second.

The issue is not confined to this weekend. Russell also wants to use the vest at the Singapore Grand Prix the following week, and he is pushing the FIA to remove the technology from cost-cap calculations altogether.

“We should all be wearing the vest,” he said. “When it works, it works great. The FIA should step in and allow us to develop it outside the budget cap.”

Not every driver is convinced the vests are effective — some prefer to take an optional 5kg ballast instead, arguing the liquid in the tubing can heat up and offer little relief. Russell acknowledged he had experienced problems with the transition from extreme heat to ice baths in the past, adding: “Perhaps I have learned from that and will be ok.”

Russell’s team-mate Kimi Antonelli is in the same position, and Max Verstappen is also reported to be racing without a vest this weekend.