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Laurence Edmondson, F1 Editor
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — The Formula One Commission has agreed to postpone the removal of tyre blankets until after the 2024 season as well as looking into ways to equalise the performance of engines among the existing four manufacturers.
Friday’s F1 Commission meeting at the Belgian Grand Prix was attended by all teams and chaired by FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
A proposal to remove blankets, which are used to pre-heat tyres before they are fitted to the F1 cars, was originally scheduled for next year with the aim of reducing energy usage to help the sport reach its environmental sustainability targets.
Tests without tyre blankets have been taking place between races this year, but after reviewing the results and listening to driver feedback, teams and the sport decided to postpone a decision on the matter and continue discussions about the possibility of making the change in 2025.
In a separate decision, F1’s Power Unit Advisory Committee has been tasked with finding a way to equalise the performance of engines among the existing manufacturers.
Power unit development has been frozen in F1 since 2022, but that has led to concerns that a disadvantage has been locked in place for Renault, which supplies the Alpine F1 team with engines.
The F1 Commission agreed to the idea of equalising the performance of all four engine suppliers ahead of a complete overhaul of the power unit regulations in 2026 and the Power Unit Advisory Committee will report back on ways to achieve it.
The Commission also confirmed that 2024 pre-season testing would take place in Bahrain from February 21 to February 23.
Source: www.espn.com