f1 (is banning? banned?) tire blankets which is a shame because now the tires won't be cozy

@monorail what are/were tire blankets

@typhlosion f1 tires are designed to work in very specific ways. for example, f1 actually asks the tire designer/manufacturer to have the tires break down after a specific amount of distance and in a specific way (either becoming nigh unusable almost immediately or slowly and predictably getting worse) because they've decided that forcing drivers to change their tires mid-race, and having it sometimes but not always be worth it to change your tires twice, is good for the sport

one of the things they specify of the tires is that they work at specific temperatures, and for a long time they've asked that the tires be effective and safe as long as they're at least around 80 degrees celsius. this is extremely easy to maintain given the high temperatures and forces on the track but it means tires have to be prewarmed, which also means carrying them around in huge blankets to keep them at the right temperature

but f1 (has asked recently? will be asking?) for tires that start being effective at much lower temperatures so they can ban prewarming