Pirelli hits back at Russell: No increased risk with blanket-free tyres

Pirelli has responded to George Russell's claims that Formula 1 is not ready for blanket-less tyres as he believes they represent a potential safety hazard for drivers.

Formula 1's stakeholders will vote at the end of July on whether to go ahead with the plan to ban electric tyre warmers as part of the sport's sustainability efforts.

Pirelli has developed a blanket-less tyre that Russell tested with Mercedes last week in Barcelona along with Ferrari's drivers.

While the product drew no criticism from the drivers assigned to the test, Russell nevertheless argued that high temperatures and Barcelona's specific track features may have exaggerated the prototype tyre's performance.

"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," commented the Briton.

"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. And I think there's a lot of work, expense, development going into these tyres. I feel like that could be put elsewhere."

• Read also: F1 not ready for blanket-free tyres says 'very concerned' Russell

Pirelli chief engineer Simone Berra acknowledged that switching on blanket-less tyres in cold track conditions would be trickier, but insisted they would simply require a different approach to an out-lap and a higher level of caution.

"Drivers need to think about the fact that not using the blankets is different than today," he said.

"So they have to approach the out-lap in a different way. Obviously it could be, in cold conditions, trickier to bring up the temperature for the tyres.

"I think it’s just a matter of doing the first portion of the lap, the first sector.

"Generally we can see much more difference compared to other sectors. Already sector two and sector three are in line with the lap times with the blankets usage.

"So it’s just a matter of really managing the first few corners, being careful, obviously."

Berra also denied that a blanket-less compound would represent a safety hazard.

"In terms of safety I don’t see, from the data that I’ve seen, any specific risk," said the Italian.

"You need to change the way you are driving in the first lap, for sure. You have to adapt the driving style even to protect the tyres because you can generate graining even if you push too much in the first corners and the tyres are not up to temperature.

"So I respect a driver’s opinion, that’s for sure, but I think that obviously there will be differences compared to the old products and the old tyre management."

Interestingly, in the wake of Russell's comments, and because IndyCar does not use tyre warmers, former IndyCar driver Marco Andretti called Russell's reaction "unreal".

"Unreal. Cold tires is what separates the men from the boys 💪🏽" he tweeted. "Would also make the pit stop changeovers more exciting to watch."

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