George Russell is preparing to sit in an ‘oven’ without the protective cooling vest worn by several of his rivals at the Bahrain Grand Prix that has uprooted itself to the furnace called Malaysia.
War in the Middle East has caused the switch to the Sepang track, an eight-hour flight away from Manama, the capital of the tiny Gulf kingdom that was due to host this race in April.
An inventive arrangement between the royal families of the two countries has seen this unique production staged. The paddock has been recreated in the image of the Bahrain International Circuit, with even its benches imported. Bahraini police are manning the traffic. Shawarmas are served to the visiting circus. The home-from-home vibe has been well achieved.
But one thing conspicuously more marked here than in the drier air of the desert is the humidity. Afternoon thunderstorms are a regular feature.
Sepang – an hour away through an increasingly concrete journey south of downtown Kuala Lumpur – has not staged an F1 race for nearly a decade. And the severity of the conditions is, therefore, an unknown experience for most of the grid.
Taking place at 3pm local time on Sunday, this could conceivably provide the most demanding physical test on the calendar. Singapore is its only rival, a destination that brings us back to Russell, who is 66 points behind his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader.
Some Formula One drivers will wear ice vests to combat extreme heat in Malaysia
For it was in Singapore, with its similarly draining heat, that Russell nearly collapsed through dehydration in 2024. He was hyperventilating.
At 6ft 2in, he has to be rake thin and this may not help him in such conditions. Nobody as tall has ever won a world Formula One title, by the way. Jenson Button would be the closest, at perhaps 6ft 1in.
Several drivers will wear cooling vests, which circulate a chilled liquid on the body under race overalls, to combat the climatic challenge.
The McLaren and Ferrari drivers are due to do so but neither Mercedes man will, which at least levels things out between Russell and the much smaller Antonelli.
Russell, who won the last race in Azerbaijan to reignite his title aspirations, said: ‘I was sweating sitting on the beach in my shorts and flip-flops. Let alone with fireproof underwear, suit and helmet. It will be like sitting in an oven.
‘I would like to wear the cooling vest this week, and I would like to wear it next week (in Singapore). But 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.”’
With engines roaring and brakes screeching, it is liable to exceed 60C (140F) in the cockpit.
‘We should all be wearing the vest,’ said Russell. ‘When it works, it works great. The FIA should step in and allow us to develop it outside the budget cap.’
Of his 2024 Singapore experience, where it is claimed he shed some eight pounds during the race, he added: ‘I think my problems there were more the shock from going into the ice bath, going from extreme heat to extreme cold. So perhaps I have learned from that and will be OK.’
George Russell will not be one of the drivers wearing the cooling vest this weekend
As for practice on Thursday, Russell was second quickest in the opening session, behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (who chooses not to wear the cooling vest, incidentally), but only seventh best in the next, having made an error at the final corner and failed to set a representative time.
He was still one position ahead of Antonelli, who hardly seemed to have mastered the track and was somewhat erratic. Charles Leclerc was fastest for Ferrari.
It was 33C (91F) in the air at this stage. It was 52.3C on the track. This race will be a test of physical stamina as well as skill, and one, Russell ominously believes, better conducted in the cooling paraphernalia he won’t possess.
