Verstappen and Hamilton reject tire warmer ban: ‘I’m confused’

Lars Leftink

Tuesday, February 28, 2023 2:51 PM – Last update: 2:54 PM

Former IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe has questioned comments from F1 drivers such as Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton against a proposed ban on tire warmers.

The sport is working with Pirelli to ban the use of tire warmers from next year to reduce electricity consumption. All with the aim of making Formula 1 carbon neutral by 2030. Pirelli hoped to run tires heated to 50 degrees Celsius this year, a reduction of 20 degrees from last year. However, testing late last year generated resistance from drivers. Speaking after a test at the United States Grand Prix last year, two-time world champion Verstappen predicted “a lot of crashes” if a ban was introduced. It was a statement that Lando Norris agreed with. Lewis Hamilton hinted at test days in Bahrain last weekend that a ban would be a “useless exercise”. Carlos Sainz, among others, agreed with him. They have now received a contradiction from a former driver from another racing class.

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F1 drivers addressed

In a Tweet, Canadian Hinchcliffe said he disagreed with criticism from Hamilton and Verstappen, among others. “I am troubled by the reluctance of some F1 drivers to ban tire warmers. It improves racing, it emphasizes the skill of running on cold tires and it saves a lot of money/ pollution from freight and energy consumption The argument that it is unsafe has been refuted in many other 4 wheel motorsports Recent claims that it is less durable as more fuel would have to be used to heat the tires are inaccurate.

The future of F1

According to Hinchcliffe, drivers should have a little more confidence in Pirelli, which has already proven itself as a tire supplier in, among other things, Formula 2. Give them the time they need and that should certainly be the future of Formula 1. However, it is worrying that they need the approval of 50% of the teams to apply the rule.” It can be concluded that Hinchcliffe believes that this 50% will not be achieved.