f1 (is banning? banned?) tire blankets which is a shame because now the tires won't be cozy
@monorail what are/were tire blankets
longish 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
re: longish tire blankets
@typhlosion @monorail I don't watch a ton of it but this channel has some super interesting F1 (and racing in general) stuff and explains those hyperspecific rules really well https://www.youtube.com/user/chainbearf1
re: longish tire blankets
@noiob @typhlosion i don't even watch f1 but chain bear says interesting words and has a relaxing voice and sense of humour
re: longish tire blankets
@typhlosion it's an interesting way to do it because you have some control over your tire wear, if you want to make your tires last a little longer (to facilitate a one pit stop strategy, perhaps) you can simply not push them as hard
but that's really my only thought about it