Russell: Possible F1 ban is 'borderline dangerous'

George Russell wants Formula 1 to investigate more sustainable tyre blankets instead of moving towards a banning them in the future, which he considers "dangerous."

The ban is set to help with the championship's sustainability push, after being identified as one of the main generators of electricity throughout a Grand Prix weekend.

F1 tyre supplier Pirelli has held a number of tests throughout the year with a tyre that requires no blankets and can heat up rapidly before a timed lap on track.

However, after gathering data there was a meeting of the F1 Commission at the Belgian Grand Prix and the proposal was delayed by teams until 2025 at the earliest.

Russell wants another solution

Russell, who is a GPDA director, believes F1 bosses should look to other methods when discussing the ban with media, including RacingNews365: "A number of drivers feel like it's a very difficult task for the tyre manufacturers to achieve," he said.

"When you've got a 1,000 horsepower car with the downforce we have, to compete with no tyre blankets [it's] borderline dangerous.

"If we probably put that emphasis on making a more sustainable tyre blanket, we could get a win-win.

"There is a more sustainable tyre blanket out there, I think that's being developed, and actually the consumption that is used from these tyre blankets is truly not a lot at all.

"So never say never, I'm sure blanket loss is something that we will see maybe in 10 years. But I think we're a number of years away from it being viable."