25/02/2023
NEWS STORY
Lewis Hamilton has warned that the intended ban on tyre blankets is wrong, the seven-time world champion stating that the move is dangerous.
For as long as anyone can remember there has been talk of banning the blankets, mainly due to costs but also sustainability.
Now, the ban is looking to come into effect next season, with a vote on the issue expected later this year.
The reason the matter has been constantly delayed is because Pirelli has been unable to provide a tyre that would be competitive straight out of the box - so to speak - in terms of tyre pressure and temperatures.
Now however, ahead of the all-important vote, Pirelli has come up with a tyre which it believes will do the job, but having tried it Hamilton is unconvinced.
"I think it's dangerous" he said. "I've tested the no blankets (tyre), and there is going to be an incident at some stage. So, I think it is the wrong decision.
"You have to drive multiple laps to get the tyres to work," he continued. "The whole argument is that taking away the blankets is going more sustainable and more green, but in actual fact we just burn more fuel to get the temperature into the tyres.
"The more concern is when you go out you are skating around and it is very twitchy," he added. "If someone else is on tyres that are working, you can easily collide with them. So, it is a pointless exercise."
"I still don't understand why F1 is moving away from blankets," agreed Carlos Sainz. "For me, it makes no sense because you're burning more fuel to warm up the tyres. In the interests of sustainability, I just don't understand the philosophy.
"It puts the drivers at risk with these lower ride-height cars," he warned. "It's the direction F1, the FIA and Pirelli have decided to take, so we need to adapt, I guess."
"I don't have a clear feeling," admitted Pirelli's Mario Isola, "and honestly it is difficult to make a prediction.
"I believe that it's a target of everyone to go in this direction for sustainability, but clearly nobody wants to damage the show.
"I don't want to say it's an impossible target, because it is not an impossible target. But it's a very big challenge."
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