The Singapore Grand Prix has been declared a heat-hazard race, the second weekend in a row that the designation has been used in Formula 1 and the fourth time this year.
The definition allows teams to fit cooling devices to their cars that pump liquid through a vest worn by the driver to manage temperatures in the cockpit.
A heat hazard is an official status for an event where it is forecast that temperatures will exceed 31C at some point during the race. It was first introduced in 2025.
Singapore is close to the equator and has long been known as one of the most demanding for drivers – in 2024, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were treated for heat exhaustion after the race.
Temperatures in the city are always in the 31-33C region across the race weekend, with high humidity and a chance of rain every day.
The race is held at night, but temperatures remain in the region of 30C even after dark.
A cooling kit is not mandatory, but any driver who chooses not to use it has to carry 5kg of ballast in their car to ensure he does not have a competitive advantage.
The system uses a cooling tank and pump, usually situated in the car’s nose, that delivers a cooled liquid, such as glycol, through a system of pipes in a fireproof top worn under their overalls.
Some teams and drivers prefer not to use the system because of two key compromises.
It is difficult to keep the liquid cool enough for long enough so that it lasts for an entire grand prix – a problem exacerbated in Singapore because it is the longest race of the year.
And some drivers find the cooling top uncomfortable in the tight confines of the cockpit.
If the liquid cannot be kept cool, it reverts to car temperature, which is considerably higher than ambient. It is not unusual for temperatures in an F1 cockpit to rise above 40C.
Mercedes are one of the teams who have decided against running the system because they preferred to devote the resource that would have been involved in making it robust enough to last a race into car performance.
Governing body the FIA has granted teams an allowance under the cost cap of $50,000 (£38,000) if they can make a system that keeps the liquid cool for an entire grand prix, and a further $75,000 (£57,000) if they could make the top comfortable.
Mercedes deputy team principal Bradley Lord described the allowance as “small”, adding: “We didn’t believe that allowance was sufficient for us to be able to develop a solution that would be robust enough to last for the entire race.”
Singapore follows the Austrian, Italian and last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia in being declared a heat-hazard race this year.
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French Open – final round
-20 M Fitzpatrick (Eng); -17 A Hidalgo (Esp); -15 M Pavon (Fra), T Vaillant (Fra), K Reitan (Nor), E Lopez-Chacarra
Selected others: -12 L Aaberg (Swe); -10 E Ferguson (Sco), D Bradbury (Eng); -7 E Molinari (Ita), V Hovland (Nor)
England’s Matt Fitzpatrick secured his fourth title of the season with a three-shot win at the French Open in Paris.
Fitzpatrick carded a one-under-par 70 to hold off the challenge of Spain’s Angel Hidalgo at Le Golf National.
The 32-year-old has already won the Valspar Championship and RBC Heritage titles on the PGA Tour this year, as well as the Zurich Classic team event in New Orleans alongside younger brother Alex.
He led by five shots going into the final day, but a run of 12 successive pars allowed the chasing pack to cut that advantage to two.
However, crucial birdies on the 13th and 15th pushed Fitzpatrick further clear and even a bogey at the last could not deny him an 11th European Tour title.
“Delighted to get it over the line, it was definitely a battle today,” he said.
“I didn’t have my best stuff for the first 12 holes and then managed to find some of my best stuff.
“In a way I was quite lucky – I left myself in some nice spots where you can still get up and down from, but I fully took advantage of that and did really well.”
Matthieu Pavon shot the best round of the day, with a seven-under 64 ensuring he finished tied for fourth alongside French compatriot Tom Vaillant, Spain’s Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra and Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan.