Suits: Since 1975 the FIA has required that driver clothing be flame retardant so as to offer protection in the event of a fire. That used to mean heavy, five layer, NASA-spec race suits. Nowadays the key is Nomex®, a fire-resistant, lightweight artificial fibre which undergoes thermal testing in the laboratory. It is subjected to an open flame with a temperature of 300 to 400 degrees Celsius that acts on the material from a distance of three centimetres - only if it fails to ignite within 10 seconds can it be used in a driver’s overalls.
Food for thought (3)
Drivers in an overall made of Nomex® fibre can survive for 11 seconds in temperatures of 840 degrees Celsius. In comparison, the maximum temperature in a sauna is 100 degrees. In a house fire it would be up to 800 degrees, while the lava in a volcanic eruption reaches between 750 and 1000 degrees.
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