Lewis Hamilton says a possible ban on tyre blankets from Formula 1 next year is both “dangerous” and “pointless”.
Ending the use of electric tyre warmers, which were first introduced in 1985, has become a key goal for F1 and tyre supplier Pirelli as part of the plan to be carbon neutral by 2030.
In preparation, the maximum temperature of the blankets and the duration teams can use them for has been reduced, while testing of blanket-less tyres for 2024 has already begun.
Hamilton was among the first to try them out at Paul Ricard earlier this month but joined other F1 drivers in strongly opposing the idea.
“I think it’s dangerous,” the Mercedes driver said last week.
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“I’ve tested the no blankets, and there is going to be an incident at some stage. So with the safety factor, I think it is the wrong decision.”
Hamilton also thinks removing tyre blankets might actually have the opposite effect when it comes to sustainability.
“You have to drive multiple laps to get the tyres to work,” he explained, “and the whole argument is that taking away the blankets is going to be more sustainable and greener.
“In actual fact, we use more fuel to get the temperature into the tyres.
“But more concerning is just when you go out, the car is skating around and it’s very twitchy. If someone else is on tyres that are working, you could easily collide with them. So, it is a pointless exercise.”
Pirelli is already well on the way to delivering blanket-less tyres, with a new full wet compound that doesn’t need pre-heating set to be introduced at Imola.
And motorsport chief Mario Isola remains confident the Italian supplier can achieve that goal across its range.
“The next step is, and I hope we are successful this year, to find an intermediate tyre that is able to work without the blankets, while at the same time, we have a development plan for slick tyres,” he said.
“When Lewis tested the tyres, it was quite cold in that period and clearly we tested some tyres that are not the final version of the tyres that we want to homologate without blankets.
“I just want to say that it is a technical challenge, a big technical challenge,” the Pirelli boss added. “We need the time to develop the tyres. We have a plan, we also have an agreement to analyse the data in July.”
LH in the hot seat. ? pic.twitter.com/71VQWRzM2i
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) February 2, 2023
And as for the sustainability argument raised by Hamilton…
“If you need three, four or five laps to find the grip you use more fuel,” Isola agreed. “This should be accounted for when making the calculation between removing blankets.
“The point is that it depends on how long the warm-up is because if it is three, or four corners, you don’t use a lot more fuel. If you need three, four laps it is a different story.”
A final vote on banning tyre blankets in 2024 is set for after the British Grand Prix in July.