Valtteri Bottas believes that a tyre blanket ban in Formula 1 might not be the way to go given the potential drawbacks involved with the move.
Formula 1 has concluded that electric tyre warming blankets are a tool that teams can dispense with in the future.
A subsequent ban on tyre blankets is scheduled to come into force in 2024, but tyre supplier Pirelli is already preparing for the change that involves the design of new tyre compounds.
Despite the complexity of producing a tyre that would not require pre-warming, Pirelli claims that it is making progress and will be ready to supply a product in time for a post-British Grand Prix test, after which a final call will be made and subsequently followed by a vote.
Banning tyre blankets has drawn a few strong reactions from drivers, with Lewis Hamilton calling the move "dangerous and pointless" for the sport.
"I think it’s dangerous" Hamilton said in Bahrain earlier this month. "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."
Bottas admits that he shares part of the worries of his former Mercedes teammate, even if Pirelli is working hard to design a product that will comply with the new blanket-free constraints.
"It’s quite a new concept for Formula 1 cars, with the amount of load we have in the cars," he said. "And having such a tyre that works from low temperature to high is not easy to make.
"I think Pirelli is really working hard on it. Obviously, warm-up is a bit of an issue when you don’t have blankets. But Bahrain is probably the easiest track to get the tyres to warm-up so it was actually manageable."
©AlfaRomeo
Bottas also points to the tyre's drop-off performance as a likely source of concern.
"The pressure rise is massive when you start cold and when you end up 100°C, so that obviously makes the tyre drop-off significantly worse," explained the Alfa Romeo driver.
"In my personal opinion, I don’t feel that’s the way to go but I think they’re working really hard and it’s obviously not up to us what’s going to happen in the future."
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