Martin Brundle has warned that banning tyre blankets in Formula 1 could see a drastic change in the action during qualifying sessions. Changing weather conditions on Saturday at the Canadian Grand Prix resulted in a slightly mixed-up order on the grid, with some drivers benefitting from a well-timed tyre change in Q2 while others did not. Should tyre warmers be banned from the sport in 2024 – as has been proposed but not yet approved – Brundle believes that moments like this in qualifying will "disappear".
Brundle: Canada qualifying a good reminder over tyre warmers
"A wet, albeit temporarily almost dry, qualifying served up some thrills and surprises for a nicely scrambled grid," Brundle wrote in his Sky Sports F1 column after the weekend in Montreal. "There was a two-lap window to fit dry tyres in Q2 which the likes of Alex Albon in his Williams and a few of the other usual suspects anticipated well, but Sergio Perez in his Red Bull and Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari simply did not. "It was a good reminder for those who want to stop tyre warmers and use F1 cars to heat them up instead, that such moments will disappear if they are banned. "Nobody will venture out on cold slicks in anything like those conditions, and nor will they in a race either until it's certain they can stay on the track and generate heat rather than smash the cars to pieces."
'Better ways' to be environmentally friendly?
Brundle feels that there are alternative measures that Formula 1 could take in its bid to be more environmentally friendly. "There are better ways to be environmentally friendly rather than fuelling an F1 car for a few extra laps to heat the tyres every run rather than directly applying a very efficient blanket system which heats specifically the tyre and wheel," the former F1 driver added. A final vote on the issue is expected after the post-British Grand Prix tyre test.
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