Tyre warmers will stay outlawed for the 2024 FIA WEC season according to the championship’s CEO Frederic Lequien, though they may return once again for the Le Mans 24 Hours in June.
Speaking to the media earlier this week, Lequien explained that further consultation with the FIA Endurance Commission is required before a final decision on tyre warmers at the Le Mans 24 Hours will be made.
“We will remove the tyre warmers for the whole season,” he explained. “Of course, Le Mans is very specific because of the difference in temperature, especially at night and the difference in categories and driver skill. It’s a very big mix between some gentlemen drivers racing in GT and some professional drivers that are racing in Hypercar and LMP2 at Le Mans.
“When you exit the pit lane during the night and the temperatures are quite low, it’s doable, but the drivers need to integrate this and for this we need time.
“For the moment the decision is not taken for Le Mans but for the whole season, we will definitely remove the tyre warmers. But Le Mans is so specific that I prefer to say that we need to discuss it again and make sure it is doable.”
In 2023 the initial plan was to run the entire FIA WEC season, including the Le Mans 24 Hours, without tyre warmers, but that changed after the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in May.
There, incidents on cold tyres, in cold trackside temperatures for Toyota’s Brendon Hartley during Qualifying and Ferrari AF Corse’s Antonio Fuoco in the race were put in the spotlight.
Ferrari was particularly vocal on the issue after Fuoco’s off at pit-out during the race in the #50 499P. Its Attiva Sportive GT boss Antonello Coletta released a post-race statement which was openly critical of the new regulation, branding it “dangerous”.
“Starting from the assumption that the rules are the same for everyone and that we abide by them, I think we need to reflect on the ban on tyre warmers,” he said.
“It’s a common opinion in the paddock and among professionals, not to mention the drivers, that this situation has become dangerous. At Spa, there have been many accidents and extreme episodes due to cold temperatures and changeable weather, and it’s time to do some serious thinking on the matter because it has major ramifications for safety.
“We are on the eve of a decisive race like the 24 Hours of Le Mans where, overnight, temperatures are low and speeds very high. It’s not just an issue for us. The accidents involved different cars, from different classes, driven at the time by both professional and gentleman drivers, and this situation had already been predicted some time ago.”
The FIA and ACO later decided to bring warmers back in for one race only, after an “in-depth evaluation of tyre usage data together with the FIA World Endurance Championship’s exclusive tyre suppliers, Michelin and Goodyear.”
When will the decision be taken for 2024? Lequien admitted that there is no set deadline at this point.
“To be totally transparent and honest, it’s a decision I cannot take alone,” he said. “It must be discussed with the FIA Endurance Commission with many people around the table. It’s too early to speak about this.”
