Mercedes chief race engineer Andrew Shovlin is concerned that a 2024 ban on tire preheaters could negatively affect Formula 1.
Andrew Shovlin: “It will be incredibly difficult to make efficient tires that can provide effective traction with such fast and powerful machines without preheating.
Formula 2 example does not apply. In Formula 1, the load on the tires is much higher. On some tracks we are laps 20 seconds faster. For Pirelli, this is a very difficult task, requiring many preparatory steps to find a solution. When writing the rules, you should be careful so that the ban on thermal covers does not exceed the technical capabilities of tire manufacturers.
These cars have more straight-line downforce than the cars we had before. High speed loads are very, very high, the teams are constantly working to increase the speed and Pirelli can barely keep up with this progress.
Maybe Pirelli could have given us tires that would work in all conditions, only the racing would be less interesting. Such tires do not allow the riders to attack with full force and due to the very high pressure they will lose most of the grip.
What is important is the optimal balance between the needs of sport and environmental issues that everyone cares about. The biggest problem here is that the sport doesn’t get worse because we’re pursuing a certain goal.”
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
