Red Bull chief Christian Horner has opened up about his concerns over the proposed ban of tyre blankets after George Russell admitted he was "very concerned" by the idea.
The blankets could be outlawed from next season, with F1's official tyre supplier Pirelli already testing potential alternatives amid concerns over sustainability and cost. However, many are concerned about the safety implications of a ban with fears that cooler tyres will not offer enough grip.
And Horner has suggested trying to make the blankets more sustainable rather than simply banning them altogether. "I don't think it is what the drivers want," he said.
"My fear with these things is that when you think you are going to achieve something simplistically that would create better racing, then there will then be a whole lot of effort go into trying to heat tyres very quickly on out laps and so on that could drive a lot more cost.
"Everybody has tyre blankets, they do the job. I think what we should be looking at is sustainable ways of powering those as opposed to removing them."
Horner's comment's come after Russell joined his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in warning a ban will lead to more crashes. "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," Russell said.
"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."
Hamilton has been involved in dry weather no-blanket testing for Pirelli and said a ban would be both "dangerous" and "pointless". Speaking back in February, Hamilton said: "It is dangerous. I have tested them, and there is going to be an incident at some stage. So on safety grounds, it is the wrong decision.
"You have to drive multiple laps to get the tyres to work. 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.
"What is more concerning is that when you go out, the car is skating around, it is very twitchy, and if someone else is on tyres that are working, you could easily collide with them. It is a pointless exercise."
