World Champion Max Verstappen says he has "no clue" over the impact of the planned Formula 1 change to wet weather tyres. Starting from Imola in May, a new compound of wet-weather rubber will be introduced that do not require the use of tyre heating blankets. It comes after Pirelli has spent time developing a new compound following criticism of the blue-walled rubber after the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, where drivers opted to use the intermediate tyres in full wet conditions due to a lack of grip provided by the extreme tyres. And Red Bull driver Verstappen is not sure of the impact while hoping drivers will get to test the new rubber on race weekends.
Verstappen on tyre changes
Verstappen has been one of the drivers calling for an improved wet weather product from Pirelli to improve raceability in heavy rain - but was keen for proper procedures to be followed. "I have no clue what to expect to be honest," he explained to media including RacingNews365. "I haven't tried the wet tyres so I hope they work without blankets, I don't know at the moment. "I think it's better that maybe we can get to test them maybe in practice before actually throwing them into the race as I hope it's not going to race for the race only." Charles Leclerc, who has drive the new tyres in a test organised by Pirelli, believed the new extreme to be a "good tyre" but that there were still improvements needed elsewhere. "Probably the extreme is a good tyre without the blankets, and the others, I don't know because I didn't test all of them," the Monegasque said. "Obviously the intermediates were a bit more difficult, so for now, I don't think we are exactly ready. "For the slick tyres, there is still a little bit of work [to do], especially on the warm up, in the first few laps, it is still quite tricky. "But yeah, I think the extremes are a good tyre without [the blankets.]
Gasly just wants a "good product"
New Alpine driver Pierre Gasly was also asked his opinion on the new tyres, with the Frenchman insisting all he wanted was a decent "product" to go racing. "I haven't tried these new tyres yet [but] I think [if] the product is good enough to run without any blankets, then it is completely fine," he explained. "At the end of the day, we just want to have products which provide us the grip we need to drive in any sort of conditions. "As we saw last yea , we don't want to be sitting in garages while there is rain outside. "In terms of driving, it is a great challenge and we all want to get out there but just with tyres that keep us safe and able to push. "So if that's what they've achieved [without blankets], then I think it will be great."
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