Racing
© Eterna
Lewis Hamilton says Formula 1 should put tyre blankets back on extreme-wet tyres after a two-day Pirelli test at Fiorano convinced him the change made the full wets “much better” in the slipperiest conditions.
The Ferrari driver completed 300 laps over two days in April at the team’s Fiorano circuit as part of an official wet-tyre test for Pirelli. Under the FIA’s allocated testing format, Ferrari could not run its own upgrades and instead had to follow the program set by the tyre supplier.
Hamilton described the workload as brutal. Speaking to media including RacingNews365, he said: “Fiorano was painful because it was 300 laps over two days.” But he used the session to press a point that has remained contentious in the paddock since 2023, when heated blankets were removed from extreme-wet tyres on sustainability and energy-use grounds.
Hamilton said he had already seen Pirelli act on one of his suggestions on the intermediate tyre. “They’ve made a change to the blankets for the intermediates, and that’s something I suggested and pushed for it and it was amazing,” he said. That, in his view, showed there was still room to improve wet-weather behavior within the current framework.
He then pushed for a more direct step on the full wet. Hamilton said Pirelli “have to put the blankets back on the extreme [wet] tyres when it is the slipperiest of conditions,” arguing that drivers need immediate grip and confidence when visibility is poor and the first corners are at their most unpredictable. He said Pirelli tried that at Fiorano after his request. “I asked them to put them back on, and it was much better.”
That matters because the full wet has been one of Formula 1’s most criticized tyres in recent seasons, with drivers often eager to move onto intermediates as soon as possible. Hamilton’s feedback points to a practical change he believes could improve both usability and safety when standing water is at its worst.
Pirelli motorsport boss Mario Isola said the Fiorano running produced “good feedback” from “several different prototypes, including the new tread patterns we are planning,” but he cautioned against drawing final conclusions from one venue. “Fiorano is quite a particular track,” Isola said, explaining that Pirelli needs data from different circuits because the characteristics there are unique.
Isola said Pirelli will use a wet-weather test at Magny-Cours in mid-May to validate some of the solutions tried with Hamilton. He stressed that this was “not because we don't trust Lewis,” adding that “Lewis is a fantastic driver,” but because wet-tyre development is unusually constrained. Pirelli has few opportunities to test intermediates and wets, only a small number of suitable tracks, and must produce a tyre that works across very different layouts and conditions.
Hamilton’s Fiorano verdict now gives that next phase a clear target: whether the improvement he felt with blankets on the extreme wets can be confirmed elsewhere and reopen the debate over a rule change for Formula 1’s heaviest rain running.