Breaking news
Formula 1
F1 teams believe tyre blankets ban could help racing
F1 teams believe the ban on tyre blankets could be good for the sport – but cautioned that it will also be a big challenge for both the teams and the tyre manufacturer to adapt to the change.
Adam Cooper
Edited: Jul 20, 2018, 2:03 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The move was confirmed by the FIA in a tender supplier document covering the 2020-23 seasons, with the ban to coincide with the introduction of 18-inch rims and narrower front tyres in the second of those seasons.
Although teams had been party to some general discussions with the FIA and F1 about tyres in 2021 and beyond, they had not heard about the final decisions made until today.
"I'm sure that a set of tyre requirements from the supplier can be agreed upon that will deliver tyres that are capable of being operated safely without blankets," said Renault's Bob Bell.
"Plenty of other racing series do it, so I don't see any reason why we can't in F1.
"If those specifications for the tyres allow us to get around some of the limitations that we face in operating the tyre at the minute, pressure and cambers and so on, and make that task less onerous on the teams, and produce more consistent performance through the life of the tyre, then I think that's all for the good."
But he warned that the FIA's requirements for the next tyre deal were "not the work of five minutes" for whichever firm wins it.
Williams technical chief Paddy Lowe believes that tyres that have to work over a wider temperature range will be a positive.
"It's been debated many times," said Lowe. "I quite like the spectacle of a grid with all the equipment, including tyre blankets. I think that's part of the impression that F1 gives of being a very technical sport at the pinnacle of motor racing.
"I would miss it from that point of view. But on the other hand if it drives us to have tyres that have a much wider window to operate that could be a good thing.
"At the same time they're talking about moving qualifying to a format where there are less laps, more criticality around doing single laps, and again if that's around tyres that aren't prepared with blankets, that would drive us towards tyres with a wide window, which would be a good thing for the sport."
Red Bull's Pierre Wache sees the change as an opportunity for teams to be smart, but he cautioned that it will be difficult for the supplier to get it right, suggesting that it will be harder in F1 than for other categories.
"As an engineer, when it's changing it's pretty interesting," said the Frenchman. "I'm pretty sure we can find some tricks and some possibility on the car to operate the tyres in the best way.
"The technical challenge for the manufacturer would be quite difficult, at the moment you see the evolution of pressure you have without a blanket, starting at 30C, finishing with more than 100C, with the energy we are putting in the tyre in F1, which is higher than other categories, for sure it will be a big challenge for the manufacturer."
Force India's Andy Green said that more debate was needed, despite the FIA's requirements already being finalised and already published in the tender.
"I'm guessing that given that it was only published yesterday there hasn't been a lot of discussion on it," he said.
"I believe it will need a lot of discussion, there are a lot of issues that need to be solved going forward related to the change of rim diameters, how we operate the tyres, how we operate them without blankets, there is so much to talk about and agree on."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Red Bull aiming to confirm Ricciardo before break
Next article German GP: Verstappen leads FP2 despite hitting trouble
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Apr 10, 2024
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1 Apr 10, 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1 Apr 10, 2024
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Latest news
Retaining Liam Lawson isn't enough – Red Bull must stop treating him like a failure
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 3 h
Retaining Liam Lawson isn't enough – Red Bull must stop treating him like a failure
Yamaha may not be competitive immediately in MotoGP's 850cc era, says Pramac
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
7 h
Yamaha may not be competitive immediately in MotoGP's 850cc era, says Pramac
You Ask The Questions: Jack Miller
MotoGP
Qatar GP
You Ask The Questions: Jack Miller
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe