F1 cooldown room: How it works and the most iconic moments

Formula 1 is a high-intensity sport packed with team-mate rivalries, on-track battles and of course, the constant quest for performance.

Drivers can easily overheat after a grand prix, and sometimes those on-track battles spill over into the post-race 'festivities'.

Imagine you've just spent around 90 minutes on track, fighting for every split-second, and climbed out of your car exhausted and experiencing a whirlwind of emotions.

Then imagine you've been sent straight into a confined space with your greatest rivals to sit and watch together as some of your best (and worst) moments are replayed.

Welcome to the cooldown room.

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What is the F1 cooldown room?

In F1, the top three drivers are required to head to the cooldown room at the end of each grand prix, before walking out onto the podium to celebrate their success in front of thousands of adoring fans.

This procedure acts as an optimal time for drivers to not only reflect on their own achievements but also ensure they are feeling up to attending the podium. With a sport as physically demanding as F1, it is vital the drivers are given an opportunity to rehydrate following their gruelling fight for a podium position.

Amidst the drama drivers will often be seen sipping on bottles of ice-cool water - if that sponsored energy drink can be prised out of their hands that is. You will also see them using towels to mop their brows, appreciating the cool breeze of the fans provided and taking a seat on the chairs to ensure they recuperate.

During this time, race highlights are displayed on the big screen for drivers to reflect on, or in some cases, observe during a painfully awkward silence.

Each driver must adorn a Pirelli cap when stepping out onto the podium, meaning another staple of the cooldown room is the cap table - but we'll come back to the caps later...

Sounds pretty boring, right? Wrong, the cooldown has actually managed to provide some of the most iconic bust-ups in the sport's history. Time to remember some of the best.

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F1's most memorable cooldown room moments

F1 fans welcomed back the cooldown room filming with open arms in 2022 after that disappointing hiatus due to the constraints of COVID-19.

Prior to its break, the cooldown room delivered some of F1's spiciest discussions, with drivers known for their strong personalities often dividing opinion on the manner in which they chose to carry out these debates.

In the mid-2000s, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso were two of the most controversial figures on the grid, often showing their brash personas in the aftermath of an unsatisfactory race. Both drivers appear on our list of the most memorable cooldown room moments for that very reason.

2007: Alonso vs Massa

Following his 2007 victory at the European Grand Prix, Alonso directed the cameraman to the wheel of his McLaren, wagging a finger in disapproval at the marks that were left as a result of his contact with Felipe Massa. The two had banged wheels on Turn 5 at the Nurburgring as Alonso took the lead, but when it came to the cooldown room, the pair were at each other's throats over the incident almost instantly. Alonso greeted Massa with a passive-aggressive handshake, accusing the Brazilian of intentionally making contact, a claim the Ferrari driver vehemently denied in an expletive-filled rant, leading to what is perhaps the most vocally aggressive argument the cooldown room has ever seen.

Vettel, Webber, and 'Multi 21'

Vettel is also no stranger to the cooldown room thanks to an illustrious career which saw him claim four consecutive championship titles with Red Bull from 2010 to 2013. He is also no stranger however to a cooldown room bust-up and is the subject of two of the most infamous incidents in the procedure's history.

In 2013 at the Malaysian Grand Prix, Vettel was instructed over team radio to obey team orders and hold his position in second behind Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber. After ignoring the order to carry out 'Multi map 21', Vettel initiated a scrap between the pair which eventually saw him bring home the win instead of Webber. If you think McLaren's 'papaya rules' are bad, let us introduce you to the controversy of Multi 21.

The Aussie driver was furious and in the aftermath, the cooldown room provided an iconic spat. Webber, although visibly seething, cooly delivered the line: "Multi 21 Seb. Yeah, multi 21" before slamming his can of Red Bull down onto the table beside him. Adrian Newey even made an appearance, perhaps to keep the two team-mates from tearing each other apart.

Vettel vs Kvyat

A few years down the line in 2016, Vettel inserted himself into a heated exchange yet again, this time as the accuser. A chaotic start to the Chinese Grand Prix saw Vettel take out his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen thanks to a cheeky squeeze from Daniil Kvyat. Vettel finished the race P2 with Kvyat rounding off the podium in P3, Raikkonen on the other hand only managing P5 after the incident.

Poking the bear in the cooldown room, Kvyat queried Vettel over what happened at the start, to which the German driver retaliated: "If I don't go to the left, you crash into us and we all three go out. You came like a torpedo."

Kvyat responded: "Well, that's racing", leading to a lecture from Vettel, having seemingly matured from his Multi 21 days.

Hamilton, Rosberg and Brocedes

Perhaps F1's most famous team-mate breakdown occurred between Lewis Hamilton and his childhood friend Nico Rosberg. In 2016, the German driver won his first and only championship before retiring from the sport completely, his friendship with Hamilton apparently damaged irreparably by that title fight.

The Mercedes team-mates often fought like an old married couple, with the cooldown room catching proof of this in 2015 at the Circuit of the Americas. Remember those Pirelli caps from earlier? Yeah we're back to those. Following a dramatic incident at the US Grand Prix where the pair went wheel-to-wheel at the first turn, Rosberg was shoved off the track by Hamilton who took the lead; one which Rosberg was never able to regain.

In the cooldown room following the race, Hamilton chucked the Pirelli P2 cap across the room into the lap of Rosberg, to which he responded by childishly tossing it back, striking the champion, all the while not exchanging a single word. Perhaps the pettiest cooldown meltdown to this day.

Max Verstappen's early exits in Austin

During the 2023 season, Max Verstappen became such a regular in the cooldown room that Norris even joked that it felt like the Dutchman was hosting a podcast with different guests each week. Taking home an astounding 21 out of 22 race victories over the most successful season in F1 history, Max definitely felt at home.

It hasn't always been this way however - on two memorable occasions, Verstappen faced embarrassing early exits from the cooldown room thanks to a post-race time penalty demoting him from the podium.

After the Mexican Grand Prix in 2016, the now three-time world champion was left in disbelief after being instructed to leave following a 5-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. His move on Vettel pushed him to deliver the now infamous finger wag of disapproval as they crossed the line at The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, but Vettel eventually got his flowers with a P3 promotion thanks to Verstappen's penalty.

Verstappen’s cooldown farewell to Rosberg and Hamilton: “It’s been good guys, see you later!”

As if that wasn't bad enough, a very similar scenario occurred once again the following year at the US GP, this time for a move against Raikkonen. In the spirit of perfect irony, Verstappen was in the middle of gloating about that very move to Vettel when Raikonnen appeared in the cooldown room to take his place. An awkward face-off ended with the Dutchman delivering a defeated: "Again?" before exiting the room with a wry smile plastered across his face, yet again in disbelief.

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