Best Wearables for Motorsports: Heart Rate, Heat and Recovery

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Watch an F1 onboard and the car’s data are everywhere: speed, gear, throttle, brake. Since 2018 the driver has been sending data too. The FIA introduced biometric gloves with a thin, flexible sensor that measures pulse and blood oxygen and transmits them by Bluetooth, so the medical team can see a driver’s condition live, including after a crash. You won’t get those gloves at your local kart track, but the same idea works for any racer: measure what your body does on race day, in training and in recovery, and use it to prepare better. This page covers the wearables that make sense for motorsports: heart rate straps, core temperature sensors, recovery trackers and reaction trainers.

Prices change often. The prices below are what we saw at the maker or a major retailer in October 2026; check the current price before you buy. Wearables are fitness tools, not medical devices. For the sport overview, see our motorsports hub.

Our top picks

What researchers measure on drivers

Driver science uses the same tools you can buy, in a more advanced form:

• Heart rate: chest-strap sensors recorded an average of 164.5 beats per minute across 13 professional races in Japan. A multi-season case study of a professional formula driver used a wearable ECG device in morning sessions and found peak heart rate tracked with changes in his stress hormone (cortisol) later that day.
• Physiological strain: studies in IndyCar, open- and closed-cockpit racing and the Rolex 24 at Daytona used a chest-worn monitor (the Equivital Life Monitor) to record heart rate, breathing rate and skin temperature, and calculate a “physiological strain index”.
• Core temperature: researchers use swallowed temperature pills, which showed drivers heating up minute by minute in a 25-minute sprint race.
• Blood glucose: continuous glucose monitors have been used at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and with IndyCar driver Charlie Kimball, who has type 1 diabetes.

A word on the car. Anything you wear in the car has to work with your safety gear: fire-resistant underwear, suit, gloves, HANS-type restraint and belts. Many drivers take off rings and watches before getting in. If you want to wear a sensor while racing, ask your series’ technical officials first. For most amateur racers, wearables are tools for practice days, training and recovery.

Motorsports wearables compared

Product	Type	Battery	Key feature	About price
Polar H10	Chest strap	About 400 h	Accurate HR at high intensity	$105
Garmin HRM 600	Chest strap	Rechargeable	Stores data without a watch	$160–170
CORE 2	Core temp sensor	5 days	Clips to an HR strap	About $295
Oura Ring 5	Smart ring	6–9 days	Sleep and HRV	From $399 + $5.99/mo
WHOOP	Wrist/body band	14+ days	Recovery and strain scores	From $239/yr
Garmin Forerunner 570	GPS watch	Up to 11 days	Training Readiness, HRV	$550
BlazePod (4 pods)	Reaction lights	Rechargeable	App-based reaction drills	See retailer

The best wearables for motorsports

1. Polar H10: best heart rate strap

Racing heart rates sit in the 150s and 160s for long stretches, and chest straps are more accurate than wrist sensors at high intensity. The Polar H10 has a battery life of about 400 hours and connects over Bluetooth and ANT+, so it pairs with phones, watches and many data apps. Use it in training to compare your gym and cardio sessions with practice-day numbers.

• Good: accurate, long battery, works with almost everything.
• Watch out: needs a phone or watch to record; check before wearing it in the car.
• Best for: any driver training to a heart rate.

Check the Polar H10 price on Amazon

2. Garmin HRM 600: best strap that records on its own

The HRM 600 is rechargeable and can record a session without a watch connected, then sync later. That suits practice days when you don’t want anything on your wrist. It’s listed at $169.99 and we saw it at $159.95 on Amazon in October 2026.

• Good: stand-alone recording, rechargeable, works with Garmin’s training metrics.
• Watch out: most useful inside the Garmin ecosystem; pricier than the Polar.
• Best for: Garmin users and drivers who want data without a watch.

Check the Garmin HRM 600 price on Amazon

3. CORE 2: best for heat tracking

Heat is the big race-day stress, and the CORE 2 is the consumer version of what scientists measure with swallowed pills. It clips to a heart rate strap and estimates core temperature with an algorithm; the maker reports a mean difference of about -0.01 to +0.23 °C against invasive measurement. Battery life is 5 days (up to 30 in standby), it connects over BLE and ANT+, and it’s priced at about $295 (269.95 CHF at the Swiss maker). Useful for heat acclimatization sessions and for testing cooling strategies on practice days.

• Good: shows how hot you actually get, not just how hot it feels.
• Watch out: an estimate, not a medical reading; needs an HR strap.
• Best for: endurance and summer racers working on heat plans.

See the CORE 2 at CORE

4. Oura Ring 5: best recovery tracker

Race weekends wreck sleep: late finishes, early practice, travel. The Oura Ring 5 tracks sleep, heart rate variability (HRV) and readiness, with a 6–9 day battery. It costs from $399 plus a $5.99 monthly membership. Wear it off-track (take it off before you put racing gloves on) to see how your body handles race weeks. Our HRV for athletes guide explains the numbers.

• Good: comfortable for sleep, long battery.
• Watch out: membership cost; not for in-car use.
• Best for: drivers who travel and race a lot.

Check the Oura Ring 5 price on Amazon

5. WHOOP: best for strain and recovery scores

WHOOP is a screenless band with a 14+ day battery that scores daily strain, recovery and sleep. It’s sold as a membership (from $239 a year for the Peak plan). Some drivers like it for tracking how training, travel and race days add up across a season. Compare it with Oura and Garmin in our WHOOP vs Oura vs Garmin guide.

• Good: simple daily scores, long battery.
• Watch out: ongoing membership; no screen.
• Best for: data-minded drivers tracking the whole season.

See WHOOP memberships at WHOOP

6. Garmin Forerunner 570: best training watch

For the cardio side of driver fitness (runs, rides, intervals), a GPS watch does it all. The Forerunner 570 has an AMOLED screen, Training Readiness, HRV Status and Body Battery, up to 11 days of battery in smartwatch mode (47 mm) and launched at $549.99. Pair it with an HRM 600 for the most accurate heart rate.

• Good: full training and recovery metrics in one device.
• Watch out: expensive; comes off before you suit up.
• Best for: drivers who train seriously off the track.

Check the Garmin Forerunner 570 price on Amazon

7. BlazePod: best reaction trainer

Light-based reaction systems are a fixture in driver gyms, and a randomized trial in 24 car racing drivers found 6 weeks of light-based reactive agility training improved reaction time in the drills and some cognitive test results. The BlazePod kit has 4 app-controlled light pods with a charging base and case; drills run from the app.

• Good: fun, quick drills; works for kids and adults.
• Watch out: evidence in drivers is limited; the app’s advanced features may need a subscription.
• Best for: karters and drivers adding reaction work to training.

Check the BlazePod kit price on Amazon

How to choose a wearable for motorsports

• Start with your goal: heart rate for fitness (strap), heat (core temp sensor), sleep and travel (ring or band), reactions (light pods).
• Chest beats wrist for heart rate at racing intensities.
• Safety gear comes first. Never wear anything that compromises your fire-resistant layers, gloves or restraints; ask officials before wearing a device in the car.
• Count the subscription. WHOOP and Oura cost money every month or year; Polar and Garmin straps don’t.
• Use the data. Compare practice days with training; use sweat-rate and heat data to plan race day.

More: our best heart rate monitor for athletes and best sleep tracker guides, motorsports training, recovery, and, for team sports, soccer wearables.

Motorsports wearables: FAQs

Do F1 drivers wear heart rate monitors?

Since 2018, F1 drivers have used FIA biometric gloves with a thin sensor that measures pulse and blood oxygen and sends the data by Bluetooth, mainly so the medical team can monitor drivers, including after a crash.

What is a race car driver’s heart rate during a race?

Studies of professional drivers have recorded averages around 159–165 beats per minute while racing, higher on dry tracks and at faster speeds. Your own numbers depend on the car, the heat and your fitness.

Can I wear a smartwatch while racing?

Check your series’ rules first. Watches and rings sit under or around your gloves and suit cuffs, and many drivers remove them. A chest strap under your race gear is a more common option, but ask the technical officials.

How can I track heat stress as a driver?

Weigh yourself before and after sessions to track fluid loss, and use a heart rate strap. A core temperature sensor like the CORE 2 adds an estimate of how hot you’re getting, useful for testing cooling and drinking strategies on practice days.

Are reaction trainers worth it for karting?

They can be a fun, useful addition. One randomized trial in car racing drivers found improvements after 6 weeks, but research is limited, and nothing replaces seat time on track.