"There will be crashes...,": Mercedes F1 team driver George Russell on ban on tyre blankets

Montreal [Canada], June 24 : As Formula 1 will ban tyre blankets for the 2024 season, Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team driver George Russell said that "there will be crashes" if the controversial ban on tyre blankets be brought into force.

Tyre blankets are a heated covering that helps maintain the optimal temperature of the tyres, allowing drivers to have improved grip during races. Russell said, "There will be crashes, I have no doubt about it," as per the official website of Sky Sports.

Tyre blankets enable teams to heat their tyres to 70*C for two hours before a session, providing drivers with a better grip at the start of a race or when coming out of the pits.

According to the official website of Sky Sports, Mercedes driver George Russell said, "I would be very concerned for all the mechanics in the pit lane during a pitstop, I'd be very concerned for the out lap from a race in cold conditions. There will be crashes, I have no doubt about it."

As per the official website of Sky Sports, "In a bid to improve sustainability, Pirelli has been developing tyres that do not need pre-warming. Blanket-free wet tyres were introduced earlier this season - and raced for the first time at the Monaco GP - while drivers have been testing the dry-tyre versions."

George Russell said, "If I'm being totally honest, I don't think we as a sport are at a position yet to bring these tyres into a racing scenario And I think there's a lot of work, expense, development going into these tyres. I feel like that could be put elsewhere."

As per the official website of Sky Sports, George Russell also elaborated on his performance in the Spanish Grand Prix, he said, "In hindsight, it probably wasn't tested in the right conditions at the right circuit. I think if you go to a circuit such as Barcelona, which is quite an aggressive tarmac, it was 40-odd degree track temperature, fully rubbered in from the race weekend. The tyres were very sketchy coming out of the pit lane, but by about Turn Five on the out lap, it was at a respectable level."

While concluding he said, "If I compare that in contrast with the start of the year when I did one run in Jerez in 10-degree track temperature, it was extremely difficult getting out of the pits."