F1 Tyre Warmer Ban Delay Rejected
Bridgestone, the official supplier of tyres to Formula One, is refusing to buckle under pressure from teams and drivers over the introduction of a tyre warmer ban next season.
It is currently permitted for Formula One teams to keep tyres warm with the use of specially-manufactured blankets, and drivers have expressed a great deal of concern at the implications of a ban on the use of the product. Citing not only concerns over the speed differential between cold and hot slicks, Williams driver Nico Rosberg was quoted by autosport.com as stating, “It’s not racing, it’s survival”, calling into question the safety of the proposed ban.
However, Bridgestone’s Hirohide Hamashima – the director of motorsport tyre development – has responded confidently, reasserting the company’s ability to produce a cold slick tyre to produce excellent grip and handling, while calling into question the teams’ motivation for complaining: “They worry about minimum pressure. We suggest a minimum pressure to teams because we would like to keep tyres safe, but some teams will take a risk – and cheat. Other teams are worried about that, so they would like to keep the tyre warmers.”
A decision on the makeup of the tyres will be taken after more testing in Barcelona next month.
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