Charles Leclerc issues warning about 2024 Pirelli tyres: "First 4-5 corners will be a problem"

Difficult period
Coming out with a bitter taste from the weekends in Monaco on the streets of Monte Carlo and at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc is ready to get back behind the wheel of his SF-23 in Montreal, hoping to finally turn around a 2023 Formula One season that has seen him only reach the podium once so far, at the Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan.

However, the Ferrari driver, after the Spanish Grand Prix, remained in Catalonia for a few more days with his Maranello teammate Carlos Sainz and Mercedes drivers George Russell and Mick Schumacher (the former Ferrari Driver Academy member, who is now the Brackley team’s reserve driver) to take part in a tire testing session organized by Pirelli for 2024.

No tire warmers
The major regulatory change that will come into effect next year is the abolition of tire warmers. It is a decision strongly pushed by the FIA and Formula 1, but most of the drivers are against it. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen had both criticized this decision in the past, also considering it potentially dangerous from a safety point of view.

Charles Leclerc has now expressed a more diplomatic and open-minded opinion during the press conference in Montreal ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, but he still highlighted some issues.

Safety risks
“There are four or five corners that are very difficult,” Charles Leclerc warned, referring to the challenge of getting cold tires up to temperature. “Tires need to warm up. When you are alone on the track, it’s not a problem. But naturally, if you are racing with other cars, it becomes very difficult to manage. If there are still four or five corners, even in low temperatures, then it’s something we could consider. But obviously, with very cold conditions, I expect this warming-up period to be much longer, and it could become difficult.” – the Ferrari man pointed out.

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The concern mainly revolves around tracks where, even in the absence of bad weather, the track temperatures are usually quite low, such as Spa-Francorchamps. The removal of tire warmers aims to increase the spectacle and unpredictability of the races, but inevitably there is a real risk of increasing the number of possible incidents.