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Austrian GP Heat Hazard Forces Vests, Drivers React

6/26/2026

Summary

Hadjar Refuses Vest

Austria’s Formula One authority declared a heat-hazard for the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg as forecasts predict temperatures above 31 °C (88 °F).
The protocol obliges teams to fit liquid-cooled vests, increasing car weight, and imposes a ballast penalty on drivers who refuse.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar will not wear a vest because it feels uncomfortable, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri trained with portable heaters and an exercise bike to cope with the heat.

Summary

Heat Dome Drives

A heat dome trapping hot air over Europe is driving the heatwave that will affect the Austrian Grand Prix.
European nations have imposed red weather alerts, school closures, public drinking bans and cancelled San Juan bonfires after extreme heat caused two deaths in France.
GeoSphere issued an orange warning for Spielberg on Saturday and Sunday, forecasting 36 °C on race day and a possible electric storm despite no rain.

History

Historical Context

The deadly 2003 European heat wave, which killed about 70,000 people and prompted France’s Ministry of Health to issue orange and red alerts, revealed the vulnerability of urban populations. Subsequent record-breaking summers in 2022 (61,672 deaths) and 2023 intensified climate-change warnings, leading the FIA and Red Bull Racing to adopt liquid-cooled vests and cooling stations for the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix.

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Hadjar Refuses Vest

Austria’s Formula One authority declared a heat-hazard for the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg as forecasts predict temperatures above 31 °C (88 °F).
The protocol obliges teams to fit liquid-cooled vests, increasing car weight, and imposes a ballast penalty on drivers who refuse.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar will not wear a vest because it feels uncomfortable, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri trained with portable heaters and an exercise bike to cope with the heat.

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