What is a Cool-Down Room in F1?

Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsports. This sport is full of thrilling moments not only for the F1 fans who are watching but also for the drivers who are on the track. Especially the pressure on the top three drivers in a race is near imaginable.

It would be really nice if the top three finishing drivers had a place to relax after the race. But F1 had a special arrangement for the F1 drivers to briefly rest and hydrate. And it was called a Cool-Down Room. F1 fans who started following the sport after the pandemic might not aware of this special room.

What is a cool-down room?

The Cool-Down room was a small room where the podium finishers waited after a race. Here, the Top 3 drivers used to calm themselves down after a tiring race. There were towels, water bottles, and juices for the drivers. Further, the cool-down room also had the podium caps, which the top three drivers wore before heading to the podium balcony.

Is the cool-down room still there in F1?

Fans who got into the sport after the 2019 season might not know about the cool-down room. F1 discontinued this special arrangement for the top three drivers starting 2020. In 2020, the coronavirus shook not only the entire world but also F1.

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Because of the pandemic, most of the races in 2020 took place in empty circuits without fans. Also, there were no drivers’ parades before the race. F1 did this for safety precautions and for social distancing. With this, they also got rid of the cool-down room, as it doesn’t sound like a good idea for drivers to stay in a room during the pandemic. Therefore, F1 no longer has cool-down rooms.

What is memorable about the F1 cool-down rooms?

Fans who are following Formula 1 for a long time know many memorable moments in the F1 history have come from those cool-down rooms. It was always fascinating to see the F1 drivers interact with each other after the race. Many times, drivers discussed their battles. Other times, the conversations used to get a little heated, even leading to fights. So, cool-down rooms didn’t always have a cool atmosphere. There are various amazing cool-down room moments throughout the F1 history, but we will only look at a few of them.

Nico Rosberg throwing podium cap at Lewis Hamilton

Who can forget when Nico Rosberg threw the P2 hat back to Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton? The seven-time world champion was on the ninth cloud after winning the 2015 US Grand Prix. The elated Hamilton took the responsibility of distributing the podium caps upon himself and passed the P2 and P3 caps to Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel. However, the German was not happy after losing his lead to Hamilton and the frustrated Nico threw the podium cap back at Hamilton in the cool-down room.

Max Verstappen leaving the cool-down room for Sebastian Vettel

The 2016 Mexico GP was a third-place mishap. Max Verstappen finished third and was relaxing in the cool-down room with the Mercedes duo, Hamilton and Rosberg. But a few minutes prior to the podium ceremony, Max received a penalty and had to leave the cool-down room. Soon, Seb joined the Silver Arrow boys in the cool-down room. The Mercedes duo was sad for young Verstappen, but then congratulated Vettel when he got there. Although Vettel enjoyed the podium celebration, the third-place eventually went to Daniel Ricciardo after Seb received a penalty.

Sebastian Vettel calling Daniil Kvyat a ‘Torpedo’

The 2016 season witnessed another great cool-down room moment. Sebastian Vettel called the Red Bull driver, Daniil Kvyat, a torpedo after the race in the relaxing room. The Russian driver pulled on an insane inside cut on the Ferrari duo. So, the surprised Vettel hit his teammate’s tire, the four-time world champion was so shocked by that move that he confronted Kvyat about it in the cool-down room. He further gave Daniil his infamous ‘Torpedo’ nickname there.

Should F1 bring back the cool-down room?

Undoubtedly, the F1 fans miss the cool-down room sessions. It was always interesting to see the drivers go through the race highlights while relaxing. They further used to chat with fellow podium finishers. The cool-down room session was a great post-race activity for the fans to enjoy.

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F1 got a lot of things back into the sport in 2021 and 2022, like the podium celebrations, fan-favorite tracks, and also the drivers’ parade, which happens before the race. So, it would be great if F1 brings back the cool-down room into F1, in the near future.