MERCEDES REJECTS FIA DRIVER AID AMID HEAT

Original: Mercedes defends its decision to reject crucial FIA driver aid

Mercedes defends its rejection of an FIA driver aid system amid physical demands from the Southeast Asian double-header races.

With the extreme heat and humidity of the Southeast Asian double-header taking a brutal physical toll on the 2026 grid, driver cooling systems have become a massive talking point. While the FIA specifically created a financial allowance for teams to develop liquid-cooled driver vests to prevent heat