2 sizzling days at the Singapore Grand Prix, the first F1 race to be declared a ‘heat hazard’

• The Singapore Grand Prix drew a crowd of over 300,000 to the city-state over the past weekend.
• With temperatures of more than 85 degrees, the race was declared to be F1’s first “heat hazard” race.
• Passion mixed with sweat at the race, which ended with a big win for Mercedes.

Formula 1’s Singapore Grand Prix 2025 drew more than 300,600 spectators over the past weekend, its second-biggest audience in its history.

While the crowd was diverse, every spectator had one thing in common: beads of perspiration.

Just three days before the big race, F1’s organizing body, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, announced that the Singapore Grand Prix 2025 would be the first “heat hazard” race in F1 history.

Temperatures rose to 85 degrees Fahrenheit during Sunday’s race, and the track temperature was even hotter, at 91 degrees. Humidity stood at a choking 72%.

The new “heat hazard” label came with new regulations for the 20 race car drivers, such as the installation of a cooling system in the cars. Spectators battled the heat of the tropics with hand-held fans, caps, and pricey ice-cold drinks.

Here’s a look inside a weekend of crazed fan fever, mixed with sweat and Champagne.

A glittering night race made for TV

Singapore hosted the first F1 night race in 2008 and has been running the event annually since, except for two years during the pandemic.

The Singapore Grand Prix race comprises 62 laps of Marina Bay Street Circuit, a three-mile track around the city’s glittering and historic town center.

“And under the lights, the paint on the cars, it’s meant for TV,” Lung-Nien Lee, FIA’s APAC vice president of sport, told me.

Caps, umbrellas, water bottles, and hand-held electric fans kept the heat at bay for the more than 300,000 spectators who attended the race from October 2 to 5.

A new addition to the race suit: cooling vests

As part of the “heat hazard” protocol, all teams were instructed to install an 11-pound “driver cooling system” in their cars. This included a storage container of cold fluid, a plump, plumbing, and a cooling vest.

Drivers were recommended, but not required, to wear the vest — a fireproof garment with tubing installed to circulate cold fluid over their bodies during the race.

Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s single-seater director, told me in the F1 paddock that the sport was still fundamentally dangerous.

“The heat hazard started about two years ago when we had a race in Qatar, which was extremely hot, and there were drivers who were fainting after the race and just couldn’t get out of the cars,” Tombazis said.

He said the vests will “allow drivers to keep their cool” in a hot race.

Some of the drivers were not too keen on the new addition to their garb. Max Verstappen, the Dutch-Belgian driver of Red Bull Racing, said before the race that he did not like the tubes and did not intend to use the vest.

But George Russell of Mercedes said he had worn the vest before, and backed the system, per a report by the BBC.

Cameron Kelleher, F1’s director of communications, told me that the vests were heavier than necessary and were still a work in progress.

Handheld fans brought welcome relief to some fans in the sweltering heat.

Lina Cucinotta, a Ferrari fan who had made the trip up to Singapore from Australia, was fanning herself with a large black hand-held fan when I approached her near one of the stands.

Coming from Melbourne, which is experiencing a pleasant spring with temperatures of 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, she said her family came to Singapore seeking the weather.

“But my fan is ready to die,” Cucinotta, an administrative professional, said with a laugh.

Cucinotta attended the Singapore Grand Prix in 2023, and she said it was hotter that year.

Beer and coconut water to cool down

The only food and drinks available in the F1 grandstands were small carts selling game-day food like hot dogs, nachos, and fried chicken.

A Heineken beer cost 17 Singapore dollars, or about $13. Other offerings included SG$18 frozen margaritas and SG$5 bottles of soft drinks.

But the weather drove me to make an impulsive purchase, and an overpriced Sprite had never tasted better.

A stall staff member told me that the beers and margaritas were flying off the shelves in the heat.

Taking a quick race break at Alan Walker’s concert

To take a breather from the stands, I made my way to the concert venue, which was located near the middle of the track.

I was just in time for Alan Walker’s set. Dancing along to his 2015 hit “Faded,” I couldn’t help but wonder how the Norwegian DJ was wearing his signature mask and hoodie in the heat.

A star-studded event

The Grand Prix was star-studded from start to finish. Other popular artists in the weekend’s line-up included Elton John, Lewis Capaldi, K-pop artists G-Dragon and CL, and rock band Foo Fighters.

K-pop band Seventeen’s members, Dino and Vernon, were also spotted touring the Red Bull garage on Sunday and enjoying some time in the pit lane.

The FIA safety car driver was experienced with keeping the heat at bay

Bernd Mayländer, the FIA’s safety car driver, has had the gig for about 25 years and said he has nailed down how to deal with heat in countries like Qatar and Singapore.

Mayländer, who has to wear a full race suit like the drivers, said he keeps a bottle of water with him in his safety car to stay hydrated and makes sure to keep sipping.

“But I can’t drink too much either, as I’ll have to make some unnecessary pit stops,” he told me less than an hour before the start of the race. The veteran had beads of perspiration on his face even before he donned his race suit.

A short burst of rain cooled down the tracks

Right before the race started, a short burst of rain cooled down the tracks and had fans running for shelter.

But some car fanatics stayed put with umbrellas and raincoats to watch the tests of the legendary F1 pit stops. They watched as the crews removed old tires and fit new ones in under 2.5 seconds.

The clouds dried up in minutes, leaving the surroundings just as hot, and admittedly more humid than before.

Charles Leclerc enjoyed a cool breeze during the drivers’ parade

The drivers got one last chance to cool down before the race, during the drivers’ parade at sunset. I joined hundreds of others on the pit lane, straining against a rope barricade to snap pictures.

Under the darkening sky and a light drizzle, the 20 drivers took a lap around the race track, seated in convertible cars and waving to fans in the stands.

They would soon be donning their full-body race suits, balaclavas, boots, gloves, and helmets for the race.

According to the F1 website, the face apparel is designed to protect drivers from fire and heat, an essential for drivers who endure temperatures of more than 140 degrees Fahrenheit in the cars’ cockpits.

F1 says the drivers lose up to 5% of their body weight during races.

McLaren’s crew hugged and cheered after winning the Constructors’ Championship

The race ended with Russell from Mercedes in the first spot, followed by Verstappen from Red Bull Racing in second and Lando Norris from McLaren in third.

McLaren won the Constructors’ Championship, a title awarded to the team with the most championship points at the end of a season.

Crew members of the British automaker hugged and high-fived as Norris’ car dashed past the finish line.

Sweat mixed with Champagne

Norris, the 25-year-old Briton who clinched the third spot, emerged from the podium drenched in sweat and Champagne.

Big bottles of bubbly were popped during the price presentation ceremony — it helped that luxury giant LVMH was a race sponsor — and sprayed all over the winners and their crew.

Other drivers were sombre as they left the pit

Drenched in sweat and dehydrated, the drivers who did not clinch the top spots left the F1 pit without much fanfare.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari’s 40-year-old British driver, did not take his iconic gold helmet off as he walked out.

George Russell relaxed in the press conference

Russell ended the duties of the day with a press conference in the paddock after the race, flopping down onto the white sofa with the confidence of a winner.

The 27-year-old Briton maintained his lead throughout the 62 laps, cruising to the top spot.

Ending the day drenched in sweat but fulfilled

I called it a day and lugged my camera and laptop back to the train station, enjoying the fireworks celebrating the end of the race, lighting up the skyline.

The weekend was hot, sweaty, and tiring, but certainly one to remember.

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