Valtteri Bottas believes there is still a "lot of work to do" before Formula 1 switches to tyres without blankets next year. The planned change has been met with scepticism from drivers, particularly those who have recently tested the 18-inch tyres without blankets. Lewis Hamilton claimed the change is "pointless" and "dangerous" by citing the cost-benefit and net gain of such a move. Speaking after he took part in the recent Pirelli test at Bahrain, Bottas pointed out some of the issues drivers and teams are facing and trying to solve. "It's quite a new concept for Formula 1 cars, with the amount of load we have in the cars, and having such a tyre that works from low temperature to high is not easy to make," said Bottas. "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."
Bottas: Pressure rise a big issue
Bottas highlighted the rise in pressures from when you start from cold to hot tyres being an issue for tyre longevity, questioning whether it's the right direction for the future. He explained: "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. "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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