'Suffering' Ollie Bearman prevented from using 'life-changing' device

Ollie Bearman has revealed how F1's new cooling vests are "life-changing" but that he cannot yet use it in races due to F1's weight limit.

In response to the 2023 Qatar GP where Lance Stroll lost consciousness whilst driving and Esteban Ocon vomited in his helmet during the hot conditions, F1 and the FIA have committed to improving driver welfare, with extra cooling vents mandated from the start of 2024.

Another item under development has been a cooling vest, which is optional in the 2025 season, if a temperature of 31 degrees Celsius is reached. For 2026, the system will be woven into the cars and will be mandatory. 

Currently, there is no provisions for drivers to use the weighty system, with the minimum weight of cars being 798kg, as Bearman explained the benefits, but also why he is prepared to “suffer” whilst not being able to use the system. 

"I tried it in Jeddah, and it seemed really, really good, so I'm really happy with what they've been able to do to roll that out," Bearman explained to media including RacingNews365.

"But unfortunately, we are not able to run it at the moment as we don't have the weight from the FIA, so we are just waiting for that, but it seems like the threshold is quite high. 

"I know that some teams are able to run it normally, as they have the weight margin, but if they never declare it hot enough to race, then only half the teams are getting the benefit, which seems a bit unfair. 

"The original design didn't work for anyone, but now it works pretty well and you do feel it, especially on your back, because you are pushed up against the seat.

"But the benefit of having cool water, even if it works for 10-15-20 laps, is game-changing, and because Jeddah, for example, is such a hot race, what you don't see is the humidity, the heat.

"It may be 27-28 degrees, but with 60, 70% humidity, with all those layers on, it is really hot and having cool water is life-changing. It really helped me in practice, but unfortunately, we were not able to run it in the race.

"The whole system is too heavy, and we're trying to get the most performance out of the car, we are not trying to make the car lighter to run the cooling vest.

"Unfortunately, we are going to have to suffer until they change something to allow us to run it more freely, as some teams have the margin to run it."