05 May 2023 , 20:05
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Martin Brundle lashed out at Formula 1 chiefs over the plan to ban tyre warmers from the sport.
Currently, teams are allowed to heat tyres to 70 degrees Celsius before they head out on track. But that is already down from the 100 degrees it used to be just a couple of years ago, and the original plan for this season was to knock it down further to 50 degrees, until an unsuccessful test saw that move delayed.
Still, though, the plan is still to completely axe the tyre warmers from next season. Tyre supplier Pirelli is working hard behind the scenes to create new compounds which will heat up quickly without the need for the blankets.
The benefit is that it will save both money and energy to get rid of the warmers. But drivers and pundits alike are worried that it will increase the likelihood of crashes and, as Brundle has pointed out, that would actually lead to more money having to be spent.
The Sky Sports pundit wrote on social media: "Doesn't make sense for F1 to ban tyre heaters. Cars will get crashed negating any cost savings and efficiencies. Drivers/marshals at higher risk. The most expensive and inefficient way of heating racing tyres during testing, practice, qualifying and racing has to be using an F1 car."
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Pirelli motorsport chief Mario Isola recently explained the plan for its work on the new tyres this season. "Silverstone is one of the races where we have two days of testing after the race," said the Italian.
"The idea is that after Silverstone, we will analyse the data, and we will analyse the situation together with the teams, the FIA and F1. Then we will decide if we can achieve the target for 2024 or if it is necessary to postpone it."
After the test in October last year, Max Verstappen warned that banning the blankets will lead to "a lot of crashes". He also raised concerns around how it will affect tyre pressures and degradation going forward. And Lewis Hamilton feels getting rid of the warmers will be a "pointless exercise".
The Brit said: "I think it's dangerous. I've tested the no blankets, 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.
"The whole argument is that taking away the blankets is going to be 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. If someone else is on tyres that are working, you can easily collide with them."