Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has spoken out against the upcoming tyre blanket ban in Formula 1, calling the move "dangerous" and ultimately "pointless".

“You are burning more fuel to warm up the tyres. “But more concerning is just when you go out, the car is skating around and it’s very twitchy. “Also, you have to drive multiple laps to get the tyres to work. “I’ve tested the no blankets, and there is going to be an incident at some stage. “I think it’s dangerous,” Hamilton told media including PlanetF1.com in Bahrain. The whole argument is that taking away the blankets is going to be more sustainable and more green, but in actual fact we just use more fuel to get the temperature into the tyres.

A vote of the sport's major players on the proposed ban is due to be held after the British Grand Prix in July.

“You have to drive multiple laps to get the tyres to work. Red Bull seems to be very strong.” It is a pointless exercise.”

Lewis Hamilton has insisted that the FIA could be risking the lives of drivers if they go ahead with plans to make an important rule change in 2024.

You have to drive multiple laps to get the tyres to work. "I’ve tested the no blankets and there’s going to be an incident at some stage, so on a safety factor I think it’s the wrong decision. However, the 38-year-old is yet to be convinced by the FIA's plans for 2024 and insisted on Saturday that the changes will pose some major safety risks unless significant alterations are made.

Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris will be asking questions of their respective teams after tricky pre-season outings, says David Croft.

“There will be a lot of questions,” Croft told Sky F1 colleague Craig Slater. Expectations of a Mercedes victory at the season-opener in Bahrain are low. It was put to Croft that Norris seems to have been indirectly suggesting that a title will not come his way with McLaren, so was asked if that is something of a come and get me plea to the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes?

Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to battle Max Verstappen for the end-of-season honours over the course of the new F1 campaign.

It is never a good idea to completely write Hamilton off, although the 38-year-old will be looking for his team to keep chipping away in order to close the gap to their rivals and give him the best chance of sealing an eighth Drivers' Championship title at the very next opportunity. It could end up being a difficult campaign for Alfa Romeo if they fail to improve their reliability, though, while Williams could find themselves at the foot of the standings once again unless they manage to surprise everybody when the competitive action gets underway next weekend. McLaren were also largely underwhelming, with a sense of dissatisfaction having reportedly swept through their ranks over the winter, but it seems unlikely that they will be fighting at the back of the field this year in spite of their recent issues.

Hamilton is one of only a handful of drivers to test a no-blanket running for F1's tyre supplier Pirelli in Bahrain.

Red Bull seems to be very strong." The Mexican went 0.359 seconds faster despite running a harder, and slower, tyre than the Mercedes driver. "You have to drive multiple laps to get the tyres to work. It is a pointless exercise." Hamilton also finished second in the afternoon session, as Red Bull's Sergio Perez topped the time sheets. The whole argument is that taking away the blankets will be more sustainable and more green, but we are using more fuel to get more temperature into the tyres.