Formula 1 drivers will wear a 'biometric glove' in 2018.

Late last year, it was reported that the glove developed by the FIA will include a 3mm sensor that feeds lifesaving data to the medical team to help in the event of a serious crash.

Now, Germany's Sport Bild reports that the glove will be ready for 2018, even though it will not be made mandatory until next year.

"We asked ourselves how we could use state of the art technology to help our medical team and therefore the drivers," confirmed the FIA's Laurent Mekies.

"The drivers are very supportive of this move to improve safety."

Explaining how the glove is useful, Mekies said: "If you know whether the driver is moving and breathing, you can make quite different decisions. For instance, does the car have to be moved quickly to access the driver, or can the recovery be done more cautiously?"

The FIA's move to beef up driver safety comes as Liberty Media announces that 'grid girls' will no longer be seen in Formula one.

"We feel this custom does not resonate with our brand values and clearly is at odds with modern-day societal norms," said F1 commercial boss Sean Bratches.

The new season gets underway in March.