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Lewis Hamilton has spoken out over Formula 1's new tire blanket rule.
Lewis Hamilton has hit out at Formula 1 board over the new tire blanket rule.
The seven-time world champion said that the new rule might be endangering the lives of drivers, while expressing his displeasure with the latest regulation.
Hamilton slams ‘no-blanket’ rule
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The 'no-blanket' has been introduced this season to reduce costs and make the sport more sustainable.
However, without the tire warmers, many drivers have complained about the lack of grip as the tires tend to remain cold after exiting the pits.
Hamilton stated he tested the tires without blankets and claimed an incident might be waiting to happen during the race weekend.
“I think it’s dangerous. 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. “, Hamilton was quoted to have told Motorsport on Saturday.
“You have to drive multiple laps to get the tires to work. The whole argument is that taking away the blankets is going to be more sustainable and greener, but in actual fact, we just burn more fuel to get the temperature into the tires."
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“The more concern is when you go out: you are skating around and it is very twitchy. If someone else is on tires that are working, you can easily collide with them. So, it is a pointless exercise.” he added.
Carlos Sainz agrees with Lewis Hamilton over ‘no-blanket’ rule
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Ferrari F1 driver Carlos Sainz has also also agreed with rival Lewis Hamilton on the rule of having no blankets.
Sainz revealed that he didn't understand the need to introduce this rule.
“I still don’t understand why F1 are moving away from blankets, because for me it makes no sense. You are burning more fuel and more tires.” Sainz said via Motorsport.
“Even on sustainability, I just don’t understand the philosophy.
“Also, there are risks with these lower ride-height cars. But it is a direction that F1, the FIA and Pirelli have decided to take, so we need to adapt I guess.” he added.
It remains to be seen if there will be an alteration to the new blanket rule in the new Formula 1 season amid criticism from drivers.
The new Formula 1 season gets underway in March as Mercedes seek to help Hamilton to a record-breaking eight world title beginning with the Bahrain Grand Prix..
The race will take place between 3 and 5 March 2023 and will be the fifth time that Bahrain International Circuit has had the honour of being the opening race of the season.
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