Get Your Motor Running’…But Keep It Safe!

From Formula 1 to the local karting circuit, performance textiles help keep drivers safe—and give fabric developers a race of their own.

A Formula 1 driver may be worth millions to a racing team, but try putting a price on your own family member as they pull on a helmet and climb into a go-kart. Whether they’re chasing a championship or just enjoying a little weekend competition, drivers need apparel that’s up to the job. Like football helmets, goggles, or shin guards in other sports, motorsports gear has its own unique safety requirements—and textiles do much of the heavy lifting.

For most classifications—F1, NASCAR, IndyCar, or even amateur racers in clubs like the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association—the key component of racing suits is their resistance to high heat and flames. Race car brakes can reach up to 1,000°C (1,832°F) during normal operation. In a crash, aerosolized fuel can ignite, putting the driver in instantaneous danger of burning. Materials like Nomex (originally developed by DuPont, but now made by Arclin), a flame-resistant, heat-resistant synthetic meta-aramid fiber, can resist temperatures up to 800°F. It’s often blended with Kevlar for tear resistance and conductive fibers for anti-static properties. It can even be blended with Lycra when used for underwear.

In karting (or go-karting), abrasion resistance is key: Because drivers are in open vehicles without safety harnesses, they’re more likely to be ejected and slide across asphalt than to be exposed to burning fuel. To quote a Karting Suit Buying Guide from British retailer Grand Prix Racewear, “Karting suits are typically made from multi-layer fabrics for safety, comfort, and durability. Modern suits balance these qualities to create lightweight yet protective gear.” The piece lists Cordura and polyamide as fibers used for abrasion resistance and durability.

In either case, drivers, their vehicles, circuits, and related equipment are subject to safety standards referred to as homologation or type approval. One of the largest bodies behind these safety standards is the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), “the governing body for world motor sport and the federation for mobility organizations globally. It is a non-profit organization committed to driving innovation and championing safety, sustainability and equality across motor sport and mobility. Founded in 1904, with offices in Paris, London, and Geneva, FIA brings together 246 member organizations across five continents, representing millions of road users, motor sport professionals, and volunteers. It develops and enforces motor sport regulations, including six FIA World Championships, to ensure worldwide competitions are safe and fair for all.” In the United States, the organization is known for its “scrutineering” (the formal inspection used to ensure compliance, safety, and fairness) at the Formula 1 races in Miami, Austin, and Las Vegas, as well as the FIA World Endurance Championship race in Austin, the two Formula E Races in Miami and Austin, and the FIA World Rally Championship event that is returning to the USA in Tennessee and Kentucky in 2027.

 FIA’s Safety Director, Nuno Costa, and its Head of Safety Equipment and Homologation Group, Matteo Repetto, talked about the role of textiles in keeping motorsports and kart racing drivers safe. According to Costa, FIA defines “safety standards and regulations for motorsport from the grassroots level up to Formula 1, and we cover everything from drivers’ safety equipment to vehicle safety equipment, circuit hardware, and, on the operational side, medical and rescue obligations and also circuit homologations,” he says.

In addition, “As part of our work, we have two clothing standards: one for car racing and one for karting. They are completely different because, in car racing, we want to protect the driver from fire and heat. In kart racing, the risk of fire is very limited, but the driver may be ejected, so we require clothing to protect against abrasion,” says Costa. “We don’t mandate any specific material, but if you want FIA approval, your product must be tested in an FIA-approved laboratory. The product must meet our standards, which we draft based on safety research and my team’s input. We do all the research hand in hand with industry and with the support of FIA Foundation, and then we publish our findings. The standard typically includes both design and safety performance requirements.”

According to Repetto, FIA standards set performance, and then it’s up to industry to reach that target. “The industry is always exploring the boundaries, and we monitor things to ensure everything aligns with our standards, while ensuring that the standard is always updated and new materials are being properly tested,” he notes.

“More than 90% of racing garments are made with aramedic fiber because they provide the best protection against fire and heat,” says Repetto. “I say 90% because manufacturers also use fiber blends for aesthetics and comfort; adding elastane, for instance, in underwear. We are also seeing more polyester blends for the outer layers of the garment, so they are printable for customization [for sponsor logos, etc.].”

Says Repetto, “to match our standards, the garments are made in several layers. It’s usually two or three layers to provide enough thickness to insulate from the heat. The outer layer was simply aramedic (aromatic polyamide). Dyeing aramid fiber is difficult, offers only a limited color range, and it’s not very shiny. More and more, the suit has become a marketing tool, so it not only protects the driver but is also used by teams and their sponsors for advertising. So, of course, the right color and the aesthetics of a shiny fabric become important to the bottom line.” 

“We’re now seeing double-face fabric offerings where the front is polyester, and the back is aramedic,” notes Repetto. “These fabrics pass our tests because, even though the polyester melts a little, the aramid layer allows the fabric to meet the FIA requirements.”

Speaking of marketing, “some drivers were applying marketing materials, such as patches or, worse, certain kinds of transfer printing that were highly flammable,” says Repetto. “A few years ago we created a customization certificate. This requires manufacturers to document how they customize the suit so that, at the race track, during scrutineering [the pre-race inspection], the scrutineer can compare the suit with the certificate to ensure that the logo has been applied correctly by the manufacturer, and not something applied by the driver or another team member in an unsafe fashion.”

The latest trend, says Repetto, “is manufacturers sending us lighter fabrics, as well as those that offer breathability. Lighter-weight fabrics are especially important because they help to reduce the vehicle’s weight and, consequently, affect its speed.”

“To clarify, our requirements are for safety only,” emphasizes Costa. “The standards do not have requirements for comfort, breathability, weight, or cost. Our job is to protect the driver. I would say most people, including many drivers, have no idea how much effort FiA, together with the industry, has put into these safety standards or the protection the products provide, so they don’t understand that adding these customizations can greatly reduce the garment’s protection.”

“We don’t directly drive fabric development, per se, but we drive it indirectly by setting the minimum safety requirements,” he says. “Based on those, we push manufacturers to develop new fabrics. Every year we issue as many as 100 new homologations, which shows the industry is always very active in bringing new products to market.”

The race for lighter, more breathable, and better-looking gear will keep textile developers busy, but safety still has to cross the finish line first. Sponsor logos may help pay the bills, but the fabric underneath has a more important job: getting the driver home.

About the Author

John Russel Jones is a freelance writer based in St. Augustine, FL, the USA’s oldest city. He primarily covers men’s style, fitness, and grooming, but sustainability is a personal concern. When he’s not herding cats with his husband, he’s probably at the gym or hanging out. He’s on all the socials: @JohnRusselJones