Norris sides with Verstappen with F1 crash warning

Lando Norris has joined forces with Max Verstappen in issuing a stark warning to the FIA that "everyone is going to shunt" if the sport presses ahead with plans to ban the use of tyre blankets.

F1 is phasing them out, with a Pirelli test at the United States Grand Prix assessing how the 2023 rubber will cope with reduced temperatures of 50 degrees in storage.

Feedback from the drivers has so far been negative, with complaints centring around concerns over safety.

“That’s the issue with it, it’s an unsafe thing rather than it just doesn’t feel as nice to drive," said Norris.

"A current era Formula 1 car, which is designed so specifically with all the aero and stuff, it’s not made to go out on cold tyres.

"It’s not like a Formula 2 or a Formula 3 car where you can just throw it about and do whatever. It doesn’t really work like that.

“So we’ll have discussions about it.”

Two-time champion Verstappen has claimed there will be "a lot of crashes" if F1 persists with its plan.

Asked if he agreed with this assessment, Norris conceded: “Yeah, there will be.

"This was the best possible conditions [in Austin] to have the tyres - super-warm, hot track temp, a high-speed first sector to get the temp in, and they were not nice.

“[It was] So easy to front lock, so easy to rear lock, completely unpredictable. So once you go to a much colder race track, or if it is a little bit damp or something, everyone is going to shunt the car at some point.

“No driver wants it, basically.”