F1 legend Lewis Hamilton keeps warm at Ferrari with a £5500 blanket

Lewis Hamilton

F1 legend Lewis Hamilton keeps warm at Ferrari with a £5500 blanket

Lewis Hamilton has expensive taste

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Thursday 23 April 2026 09:43

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Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton was in need of a very expensive blanket to keep him warm this week as Ferrari returned to Monza to carry out F1 tests.

There may not have been a single F1 race weekend since March due to the cancellation of April's Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, but the Scuderia have been busy testing their machinery nonetheless.

Earlier this month, Hamilton took to Ferrari's private testing track in Fiorano in his SF-26 as part of a Pirelli wet tyre test, but the 41-year-old was also able to try out some new upgrades ahead of the calendar's return in May.

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Now, Hamilton and Ferrari have returned to the track, this time at the home of the Italian Grand Prix in Monza where the seven-time champion was once again testing a fresh upgrade package ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.

And when the F1 icon wasn't busy behind the wheel, he was doing his best to warm up back in the garage, perhaps because he's spent much of the enforced break frolicking in the sea with Kim Kardashian.

In a video posted to Ferrari's 'X' account, Hamilton appeared to have fashioned an F1 tyre blanket (which costs £22,000 per car and roughly £5,500 per wheel) into some kind of shawl, with the accompanying caption explaining: "Lewis staying warm any way he can in Monza."

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Why does an F1 tyre blanket cost so much?

Hamilton could be seen dressed in full Ferrari gear, but clearly his PUMA hoodie and coat weren't enough to keep him sufficiently toasty.

Instead, he opted to use the tyre blanket, something which is surely up to the job considering it is engineered to keep tyres warm for hours on end until the time comes for them to be used on F1 cars across testing, practice, qualifying and grand prix sessions.

The fastest-recorded pit stop in F1 history was delivered by McLaren, who managed to change all four of Lando Norris' tyres at the Qatar GP in just 1.8 seconds. And it is in part thanks to the state of the art heating technology within the tyre blankets that allows Norris, Hamilton and their fellow F1 drivers to race straight out of the pits with brand new tyres on.

When is the next F1 race?

The Japanese GP at the end of March marked the last race for over a month, with fans, drivers and teams enduring a five-week long enforced break in the 2026 calendar throughout April.

The fourth round of the 2026 championship will return next weekend in Miami, and will also mark the second sprint race of the year.

As a result, just a single practice session will take place on Friday, May 1, before sprint qualifying at 4:30pm local time (EDT).

Saturday, May 2 will then see the sprint race kick off at midday EDT before qualifying for the main grand prix takes place at 4pm.

Sunday, May 3 will then likely see F1 return, with lights out for the Miami GP at 4pm EDT.

F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Monza