Lewis Hamilton Brands Future F1 Tyres "Concerning" And "Dangerous"

According to Lewis Hamilton, removing tyre blankets from F1 is a hazardous move that serves no purpose. He believes that this plan is pointless and may cause harm.

Pirelli is currently working on developing new tyre compounds for the sport starting from 2024. These new compounds are expected to eliminate the need for pre-heating the tyres before use.

One of the main benefits of this initiative is the reduced electricity usage across the paddock during the F1 season. This move aligns with F1 and FIA's sustainability goals to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

Initially, there were plans to decrease the pre-heated tyre temperatures from 70 to 50 degrees Celsius for the current year. However, due to driver criticism during testing last year, these plans were abandoned. Instead, a compromise was made to reduce the heating period to only two hours.

After a Pirelli test day in Spain before the official pre-season event in Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton is concerned about the potential risks posed by the complete ban on tyre blankets from 2024.

During an interview with the press during the Bahrain pre-season testing, the seven-time champion explained:

“I think it’s dangerous.

“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.

“Also, 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 greener, but in actual fact we just 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.”