Lewis Hamilton brands removal of F1 tire blankets as ‘dangerous’

Lewis Hamilton mentioned that the new tire blanket rule was 'dangerous' and 'pointless.' The seven-time world champion stated that he tested the tires without blankets and claimed that an incident might be waiting to happen during the race weekend.

The 'no-blanket' has been introduced this season to reduce costs and make the sport more sustainable. However, without the tire warmers, many drivers have complained about the lack of grip as the tires remain cold after exiting the pits.

Speaking to Motorsport.com, Lewis Hamilton 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 tires 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 burn more fuel to get the temperature into the tires."

He went on to clarify:

“The more concern is when you go out: you are skating around and it is very twitchy. If someone else is on tires that are working, you can easily collide with them. So, it is a pointless exercise.”

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"I still don't understand why F1 is moving away from blankets" - Carlos Sainz agreeing with Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari F1 driver Carlos Sainz also agreed with rival Lewis Hamilton on the rule of having no blankets. He revealed that he didn't understand the need to introduce this rule.

He said:

“I still don’t understand why F1 are moving away from blankets, because for me it makes no sense. You are burning more fuel and more tires. Even on sustainability, I just don’t understand the philosophy. Also, there are risks with these lower ride-height cars. But it is a direction that F1, the FIA and Pirelli have decided to take, so we need to adapt I guess.”

Pirelli president Mario Isola mentioned that he fears that most teams won't agree with the new rule, adding:

"I don't have a clear feeling, and honestly it is difficult to make a prediction. I believe that it's a target of everyone to go in this direction for sustainability, but clearly, nobody wants to damage the show. I don't want to say it's an impossible target, because it is not an impossible target. But it's a very big challenge."

It would be interesting to see if the new blanket rule will continue throughout the season amid criticism from drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz.