No blanket-free F1 tyres from next year
FIA have revealed that the F1 tyre blanket ban will be delayed until at least 2025 after the Formula 1 Commission decided against the introduction of slick tyres that do not need preheating.
The third meeting of the Formula 1 Commission in 2023 took place today, 28 July, at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps ahead of the FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix. Among the key topics for discussion were the removal of tyre blankets for dry tyres from 2024 and Power Unit performance convergence. The meeting was chaired by FIA Single-Seater Director Nikolas Tombazis and Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali.
The sport hoped to ban tyre blankets for the 2024 F1 season as it looked to make the sport more sustainable from an environmental point of view. F1’s sole tyre manufacturer Pirelli has been working on a new specification of slick tyres that do not require preheating.
The Milan-based manufacturer has already introduced a blanket-free wet tyre in Monaco that has been used on multiple occasions since May as recent race weekends have been affected by rain.
The Italian manufacturer also wanted to debut an intermediate tyre that does not require blanket, but teams have rejected to use that in the current season, albeit it is expected to make its debut next year.
The blanket-free slick tyres have been developed for several months with in-season tests having taken place on a wide range of tracks including Bahrain, Barcelona and Silverstone.
Following a meeting of the F1 Commission, it has been decided that the blanket-free tyres will not be introduced next year with the sport set to make further experiments and evaluations with the new generation of tyres in the near future.
"Consistent with the future environmental and cost saving objectives of the sport, an option to remove the use of tyre blankets has been under consideration, and the 2023 Pirelli tyre testing campaign has focused almost entirely on this objective, with expanded test days dedicated no-blankets testing.
"Pirelli reported on the outcome of this test campaign to the F1 Commission. The results of the testing undertaken so far show that the change can be implemented to the requested target specifications for 2024, however it has been decided to postpone the introduction of a tyre blanket ban for dry tyres in 2024 and to continue this discussion and further testing into 2025.
"Further analysis will continue for other potential future changes to the regulations that can improve the environmental sustainability of the sport."
