Formula 1’s fourth attempt to ban the use of tyre warmers in the space of 15 years is at risk of failing as previous efforts did, due to opposition from teams.
The FIA is due to decide whether to recommend a ban on the use of tyre heating blankets from the 2024 F1 season. If the sport’s governing body chooses to go ahead with the ban it will be put to a vote by the end of July.The FIA intends to ban tyre warmers to reduce the amount of equipment teams have to ship around the world and reduce energy consumption. However it was recently forced into a U-turn over its tyre warmer ban in the World Endurance Championship and permitted their use at the Le Mans 24 Hours as a one-off following a series of crashes at Spa-Francorchamps.
F1 drivers voiced concerns over the ban ahead of last week’s Canadian Grand Prix. George Russell and Charles Leclerc, who tested Pirelli’s prototype dry weather tyres for 2024 at the Circuit de Catalunya, said they had doubts whether the rubber would come up to temperature quickly enough in cool conditions.
Pirelli has already produced and introduced intermediate and full wet weather tyres which are designed for use without heating blankets. Alpine tested those tyres following the Miami Grand Prix last month and its sporting director Alan Permane was impressed with the new product.
“We were comparing them to the standard intermediate that was running with a blanket and they were better in all aspects,” he said. “They were better at warm-up, they were better in grip, they were much nicer for the guys to drive on. So that’s all I can really comment on.”
Permane said he told Pirelli’s motorsport director Mario Isola “these are really, really impressive.”
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Pirelli’s tyres were criticised during previous seasons following a series of failures. Now in its 14th year as F1’s sole tyre supplier, and following several unsuccessful attempts to ban tyre warmers during that time, Permane is impressed by the job it has done developing new compounds which can be used without pre-heating.
“But we saw it at the start of [final practice] everyone ran on the full wet without blankets and I didn’t hear a peep from any of the drivers about any difficulties or any problems. It certainly wasn’t warm and there was certainly plenty of water. The new inters are like that, it was very, very impressive.”
The ban on tyre blankets will go ahead next year if it is supported by the FIA and F1 along with at least five of the 10 teams. Permane is optimistic it will go ahead.
“Mario did want and Pirelli did want to introduce them this year and he needed eight teams’ support and didn’t get that, unfortunately. But we’ll have them for next year.”
However, other teams are not convinced. Mercedes’ technical director James Allison said there was still some uncertainty over whether blankets would be banned following the test they conducted for Pirelli at Circuit de Catalunya. “I’d say that the early look at running without blankets is it’s not exactly a done deal to think that that’s going to be a good thing next year,” he said. “I’d say there’s plenty of challenge to make that work.”
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Both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have expressed doubts over the rules change and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said he would be guided by the feedback from his drivers before voting.
“Taking teams’ specific thoughts out of it, at the end we want a good show and we need to listen to the drivers. And not wait too long, but to everyone and see what the opinion is on tyres without warmers.
“I tend to agree with the drivers in that why are we making experiments that can potentially create a safety hazard? We’ve seen in WEC how wrong that can go in Spa.
“So what is it we want to achieve? Is it that we’re not spending energy on warming or tyre heaters for wet tyres that we don’t use at all during the year, or very little only?
“It’s risk and reward. My understanding in my life is that risk and reward need to be well measured. And I don’t think there is a great reward to making experiments in Formula 1 cars with drivers in there for the fun of it.”
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella also stressed the importance of not taking unnecessary risks by banning tyre warmers.
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“If in the technical reports there’s convincing evidence that this is a good idea, we will be supportive. Clearly it needs to be very convincing because the implications, if you get it wrong, can be dramatic and therefore we don’t want to expose the sport to this kind of risk if this is not technically, and even from a sporting point of view, absolutely sound.
“So we will see. We trust the FIA leading this process, but definitely it needs to be well-informed, it’s not a matter of opinion for this kind of topic.”
There are other potential problems arising from a ban on tyre warmers, according to Red Bull’s technical director Pierre Wache.
“The main problem [from] a tyre perspective is more the pressure evolution during a stint and that is something we will see when we test it,” said Wache. “Then we will have a better view on that.”
He also cast doubt on whether the ban would reduce emissions. “Electrical power is a little bit more efficient than burning fuel for it, but that is my own feeling and vision,” he said.
Pirelli has insisted the tyres it has produced are up to the job and the ban on tyre warmers will not increase the risk to the drivers. The tyre manufacturer also refuted claims that banning tyre warmers will fail to reduce energy consumption, pointing out teams will not burn any fuel to heat the tyres which would not already be used in a race situation.
However the opposition to banning tyre warmers is a reminder why so many past attempts to ban them have not succeeded. F1 has been down this path several times before in 2008 when Bridgestone was F1’s tyre supplier, in 2014 after Pirelli took over and again in 2018. Each time the efforts to introduce a ban failed and it seems the latest attempt is heading for the same outcome.
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2023 Canadian Grand Prix
- Norris ‘even more’ sure Canada penalty was wrong after review request fails
- McLaren seeking more than just downforce gains from major upgrade
- Winning more races won’t necessarily lead to F1 seat – Palou
- Red Bull’s testing restriction will “massively affect” 2024 car development
- Schumacher’s set-up input gives Mercedes a “super advantage” – Wolff
S
22nd June 2023, 14:15
They should ban any team that opposes removing tyre warmers.
I think it’s fair to say that it’s a 2 year process at best to become a stable solution, and that’s totally fine.
Pirelli needs to provide a suitable set of tyres, which they can do. The teams then need those tyres in advance to develop their cars specifically for them.
If any team builds or operates their car in a manner that exceeds the tyre’s capability, then that is a team problem, not a tyre problem.
Safety-wise, the drivers’ decisions are the only real safety concern. Can they drive cautiously or are they reckless?
Guaranteed, it will only take one or two events for everyone to understand how they have to drive in those first couple of laps to make it through the warming period.
F1 still keeps banging on about relevance, but who else uses tyre warmers? Certainly not any road car, nor almost any other racing car in any other competition, for that matter.
DrG
23rd June 2023, 10:12
The article points out they had to be re introduced in Endurance?
And by the way even Karts are allowed their use – particularly Superkarts
S
23rd June 2023, 10:26
They didn’t have to be. There’a huge difference between want and need.
There’s an argument that they need to not be seen as a bunch of amateurs who can’t drive to the conditions, though, I guess. The exact same fear F1 has.
Nobody cares about karts, unfortunately – not even the very few karting series that use them.
So few series that use tyre warmers out of hundreds or potentially thousands around the world…
I think there’s really not much of an argument to keep them – regardless of the environmental angle that some are using.
2 races into it, and they’ll be on top of the new tyres and their warm-up characteristics.
Kribana (@krichelle)
22nd June 2023, 14:59
Is this another way to please fake F1 fans who only want entertainment?
S
22nd June 2023, 15:54
Fake F1 fans???
It’s fake to have tyres artificially warmed off the car, IMO.
As for entertainment – who doesn’t want it? You really want F1 to be boring? To involve as little driving and engineering skill as possible? To be so consistent, predictable and planned in advance from start to finish that cars simply spread out, leaving no opportunities for teams and drivers to overcome at least some of their cars’ inherent performance potential on track? For their to ultimately be little or no actual racing???
That all sounds incredibly fake to me. The true definition of a ‘show’ and not at all a sport.
Yellow Baron
22nd June 2023, 23:51
Exactly. The way I see it.. is there really a need? And does a ban actually work for F1?
Teams will have to work around this. In super formula and the all run the same car essentially in F1 some cars are better at warming their tyres quickly therefore it’s just going to advantage some teams over others. F1 is too complex.
Sure it creates some opportunities for battles on track and potential great defences but is that what is really needed, when say the use of drs has barely even been questioned or had any vetting to see if there could be a better way to use it. To create battles, rather than simply give overtakes on straights or not work at all.
This sport is so archaic, mismanaged and top heavy a lot of the time.
Yellow Baron
22nd June 2023, 23:51
Exactly. The way I see it.. is there really a need? And does a ban actually work for F1?
Teams will have to work around this. In super formula and the all run the same car essentially in F1 some cars are better at warming their tyres quickly therefore it’s just going to advantage some teams over others. F1 is too complex.
Sure it creates some opportunities for battles on track and potential great defences but is that what is really needed, when say the use of drs has barely even been questioned or had any vetting to see if there could be a better way to use it. To create battles, rather than simply give overtakes on straights or not work at all.
This sport is so archaic, mismanaged and top heavy a lot of the time.
MichaelN
22nd June 2023, 16:52
Hopefully someone brings a camera to that meeting where the FIA figures out pretty much all their other series do just fine without these blankets.
Jere (@jerejj)
22nd June 2023, 17:41
Ikr
Yellow Baron
22nd June 2023, 23:53
Ikr is almost like the other series are a lot more spec and F1 doesn’t have teams with have cars that work the tyres better and will give an advantage to some teams over other. Smh.
Lyndamarks
22nd June 2023, 18:23
Just because other categories do doesn’t mean it will work for F1 cars which have very different needs and characteristics.
Also other categories have more freedom in terms of tyre suppliers been able to bring a wider range of tyres suited for all the circuits and weather/temperature conditions that are expected.
Having a range of only 5 compounds with 3 been taken to every race and been able to come up with a range of tyres that will worn on every track and temperature as is never going to happen.
If Pirelli or whoever else may supply F1 tyres in future could go back to what we had pre-2007 where they were able to come up with a bigger range of compounds with some designed specifically to be run in certain conditions on a certain Circuit then maybe it would work. But for as long as the limits are in place It’s unlikely no blankets will work.
grat
23rd June 2023, 4:30
Except Le Mans, apparently.
S
23rd June 2023, 7:50
They tried it just once.
Giving up after trying something only once isn’t going to make anyone better at it, is it.
Actually, it sets a truly terrible example – not just in motorsport, but in life.
Jere (@jerejj)
22nd June 2023, 17:40
I know I have pointed out this more than once before, but I truly wish Russell & co. would watch some Super Formula, IndyCar, & or F2 to see that racing without blankets is perfectly safe with considerably lower-downforce single-seaters, which means even safer with F1 cars, given more downforce means staying on track is easier with cold/unpreheated tyres.
In theory, yes, riskier in cooler weather, but the above-mentioned single-seater categories have proved reality to be different, even in low-ish track temps, so I don’t really see any safety issue.
They only note an endurance series, even though those cars are more uncomparable to F1 than other single-seaters, especially SF, given that series is the world’s 2nd-fastest circuit-racing series.
anon
22nd June 2023, 21:42
@jerejj the Super Formula series has actually made use of tyre warmers in the past when the ambient temperature has been low.
Yellow Baron
22nd June 2023, 23:55
They are spec series. Totally different
S
23rd June 2023, 4:29
You keep saying that as though it makes a difference.
Remember, the teams in F1 can design and build their cars specifically for the given tyres – in that sense it’s easier for them to get the tyres to work ‘better’. And that’s what they’ve been doing all along, and is the sole reason why there are tyre issues in F1 in the first place. They are maximising the tyres at all times – not just running them within 5-10% of their peak performance, but 2-3%.
Electroball76
22nd June 2023, 17:43
Ban the tyre warmers, and ban the current tyres . Instead make some proper tyres that you might want to buy in the real world if you were racing at F1 speeds for several hours
Yellow Baron
22nd June 2023, 23:56
Minimum a dozen stops per race. Maybe it’ll makes things more interesting at least
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
22nd June 2023, 18:00
Pit crew will need to wrap themselves around the tires to keep them warm.
Qeki (@qeki)
22nd June 2023, 20:07
Tyre whisperer gets a whole new meaning
Ω (@omega)
23rd June 2023, 8:42
Nah, they will just get in pit catering, with ovens and food heaters, and if the tyres “accidentally” get a bit warm next to it, then oh well 🤣
Lyndamarks
22nd June 2023, 18:11
Here comes the armchair online experts who always know better than the drivers and teams despite having none of the data or experience they do.
Yellow Baron
22nd June 2023, 23:57
They’re all wrong
S
23rd June 2023, 4:33
Maybe some of us do – but don’t have the vested interests in maintaining the status quo?
F1 teams despise change. They always have and always will, as it makes their existing data worthless and takes away their advantages.
But when it comes, they inevitably adapt pretty quickly anyway.
This situation will be absolutely no different.
Hazel Southwell (@hazelsouthwell)
22nd June 2023, 20:43
I sort of think tyre warmers have become a bit of a false battle. Yes, they are energy intensive but it’s obviously nothing compared to the logistics of even a motorhome in F1 and even in terms of the tyres themselves, they’re not the real environmental issue, which is more running through lots of sets per weekend and plastic particulate pollution, especially near bodies of water.
Worrying about the environmental credentials of high-degradation tyres feels quite backwards. Clearly, as FE has shown this year, the answer isn’t rock-hard non-degradables but tyre blankets seem to have acquired a bit of a villain status where it’s not particularly merited.
Yes, in other categories cars do manage without tyre blankets. But seeing the amount of blocking and obstruction F1 gets into because of drivers trying to get their tyres into the right window, it doesn’t feel like a particularly sensible game to play. It becomes another strategy element, which will give teams with the resources to model it an advantage and teams without a risk of losing their cars; in a cost cap era that means potentially delaying or cancelling upgrades, which keeps the gaps steady.
I don’t really see what on-track action or environmental gain would be specifically got from removing tyre warmers rather than limiting, for instance, data processing energy or the scale of motorhomes teams are allowed to bring.
GT Racer (@gt-racer)
22nd June 2023, 21:28
As I understand it it’s not necisarily that teams/drivers don’t to ban tire blankets or that they think the idea of doing so would be dangerous.
It’s more that they don’t think the tires that they have tested would be suitable and that under certain conditions the tires not been suitable would make it more dangerous than is ideal.
Someone raised this above but remember that Pirelli are only allowed to produce 5 compounds for the season and that 3 of those compounds must be taken to each race weekend and ideally with all 3 compounds taken been viable to run. That has been the biggest thing that has come up through the testing, There has been situations where none of the compounds have been found to be suitable due to track temperatures been lower than anticipated.
S
23rd June 2023, 4:35
This is true in other series too, but the level of complaints are typically so low that nobody need concern themselves with them.
Regardless, the onus is always on the drivers to drive to the conditions at all times. It’s the same for everyone.
MaxCO2
23rd June 2023, 20:22
Sorry, I don’t see the point.
Every team already has invested in tire warmers, so how does banning them save anyone money?
It’s a totally asinine exercise.
S
24th June 2023, 10:00
Tyre warmers don’t last forever and need to be replaced. When the tyre sizes change, so do all the tyre blankets. They require a large amount of electrical energy to operate. They take up space and have mass, and need to be transported all around the world….
The asinine exercise is keeping them.
I see the point. Why don’t you?
David (@nvherman)
25th June 2023, 20:21
I really don’t understand why anyone thinks that F1 shouldn’t have tyre blankets.
F1 is supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport, and the technology is part of that. Tyre blankets have been part of Formula 1 since 1985.
I agree that keeping pressures within agreed parameters will be difficult given that pressure increases with temperature