The general agreement among those in the paddock is that blankets will likely be used exclusively for slick tires in the upcoming season, while wet tires and potentially intermediate tires may not require them.
Pirelli has submitted a report on its testing program to the FIA, and the matter will be deliberated at the F1 Commission in Spa on Friday.
The current regulations for 2024 state that blankets will be utilized in the upcoming year. The FIA needs to determine if Pirelli has adequately proven that their tires can function without them before presenting the decision for a vote among the team leaders.
The teams have previously reached an agreement this year to implement wet tires without blankets. The new tires were initially utilized during the Monaco race.
However, they rejected a later attempt to also make the switch for intermediates within the course of this season, despite it being accepted that the tyres were ready for use.
It’s believed that blanket-free inters are likely to be accepted for 2024.
The testing program has been continuing smoothly, and the final test before the decision was held at Silverstone two weeks ago. Red Bull, Williams, and Haas were the participating teams.
While the new tyres get up to temperature within a few corners of leaving the pits, team insiders have suggested that they need to demonstrate that on a wider range of tracks after running at Bahrain, Barcelona and Silverstone – venues where it’s easier to get heat into the tyres.
If the FIA were to ask for a vote, it is certain that certain teams will be hesitant to modify a crucial aspect that could potentially have a negative impact on their performance in the upcoming year.
Pirelli, nonetheless, maintains its belief that it has presented sufficient evidence to support running without blankets.
“At this stage of the season, we have successfully established a document for assessing the F1 Commission, which has brought us satisfaction,” stated Simone Berra, the chief engineer. “Therefore, we have achieved our desired position overall.”
“Then obviously we have other tests, we have Spa, then we have Monza, then we have the in-competition tests. The development phase, it’s not yet finished.
Pirelli tyres outside of the McLaren motorhome
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
“We still have some additional substances to test, specifically new compounds. The construction phase is nearly complete, and we are eagerly seeking these compounds.”
The question remains how the tyre might impact racing in terms of strategy, while there are also question marks about how no-blanket slicks will behave straight out of the pitlane in cool and damp conditions when the track is transitioning.
When asked about Pirelli’s efforts, Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin expressed that he believes the challenge of driving on dry tires is much greater compared to wet tires.
“I cannot reword.”
The query is, does it enhance the racing? Does it result in a more impressive spectacle? Although it is possible to achieve this during testing, the level of traction only improves halfway through the track, and then it becomes relatively typical for the drivers. However, there are situations that cannot be replicated in testing, such as a transition from wet to dry conditions if a safety car is present and all the cars are in the pits.
If you find yourself in a wet pitlane with a 20-degree slick tire, which is meant to be used at temperatures of up to 100, the grip is significantly reduced.
I think there are still several questions to be asked regarding whether we are prepared to consider this as a sport, particularly in terms of ensuring safety measures are in place.
One intriguing aspect of the upcoming decision is that even if blanket-free slicks are not accepted for 2024, Pirelli remains committed to testing them with Aston Martin and McLaren at Spa next week, as it will to too late to change the programme.
The Spa testing will therefore be conducted with the aim of potentially implementing it in 2025. Nevertheless, it remains uncertain which company, Pirelli or Bridgestone, will be awarded the F1 tire contract for that particular season.
A choice will be made during the summer break, and if the Japanese manufacturer is chosen, there would be no reason for Pirelli to continue its programme without restrictions during the Monza test in September. Instead, Pirelli is expected to prioritize the development of standard tires for 2024.
It is interesting to note that this could provide a small benefit to the teams participating, namely Red Bull and Alpine. They will have the opportunity to work with the final race tires for 2024, while other teams that conducted Pirelli testing this year only had the chance to test with the discarded versions that lacked the blanket.
All teams will however be able to run the final 2024 tyres in the post-Abu Dhabi test.
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