Russell: Non-blanket tyres will cause crashes

The decision regarding the removal of the practice of pre-heating F1 car tyres with electrical blankets is looming, with a final test for the Pirelli prototypes set to take place after the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, next month, after which a decision is expected.

F1 drivers are not thrilled with the changes the sport is planning, and now Russell, a director in the Grand Prix Drivers Association insists the new tyres are not ready to be raced, siting safety concerns if they are rolled out now.

Russell spoke of the Pirelli test he took part in in Barcelona following the Spanish Grand Prix, he told Sky Sports F1: "In hindsight, it probably wasn't tested in the right conditions at the right circuit.

"I think if you go to a circuit such as Barcelona, which is quite an aggressive tarmac, it was 40-odd degree track temperature, fully rubbered in from the race weekend. The tyres were very sketchy coming out of the pit lane, but by about Turn Five on the out lap, it was at a respectable level," he explained.

"But if I compare that in contrast with the start of the year, when I did one run in Jerez in 10-degree track temperature, it was extremely difficult getting out of the pits," the Briton claimed. "And if I'm being totally honest, I don't think we as a sport are at a position yet to bring these tyres into a racing scenario.

"I would be very concerned for all the mechanics in the pit lane during a pitstop, I'd be very concerned for the out lap from a race in cold conditions. There will be crashes, I have no doubt about it.

"And I think there's a lot of work, expense, development going into these tyres. I feel like that could be put elsewhere," Russell suggested.

Russell's Mercedes boss Toto Wolff supported his driver's opinion regarding the new tyres; he said: "At the end, we want a good show and we need to listen to the drivers and see what all their opinions are. I tend to agree with the drivers that why are we making experiments that can potentially create a safety hazard?

"What is it we want to achieve? Risk and reward - my understanding in my life is that risk and reward need to be well measured.

"I don't think there is a great reward in making experiments with Formula 1 cars with drivers in there for the fun of it," the Austrian concluded.

F1's reasoning behind banning the electrical tyre blankets is to make the sport more sustainable, but with the way drivers have to put heat into the new tyres, the cars will be consuming more fuel, not to mention the extra money teams will have to spent to fix crashed cars, which really makes one question that approach.

Of course, the main factor in taking such a decision is Safety, so is it worth it to put all this money developing these tyres knowing their might be a safety hazard?

One can only hope he final decision takes all these factors in mind.