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Pirelli Boosts Tyre Blanket Temp, Moves Miami Start Earlier

5/4/2026

22 3 Full Breakdown

Summary

Pirelli Raises Blanket

Pirelli raised the intermediate tyre blanket temperature from 60 °C to 70 °C, causing the Miami race start to shift from 4 pm to 1 pm because of forecast thunderstorms.
Teams say the hotter blanket slows heating of the compound, makes it feel too robust and causes warm-up problems.
Simone Berra said the increase will be evaluated if rain, after Pirelli tested a Ferrari on a wet Fiorano track in April and in Japan.

Summary

Drivers Warn

Drivers warn the 2026 cars lack wet-weather experience, making Miami the first rainy test.
Pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli said a rolling start would ease the difficulty of a standing start in rain.
The FIA has banned Straight Line Mode and Boost Mode, removing the extra 350 kW boost in wet conditions.
Lewis Hamilton pointed to his two-day Fiorano wet test and a full day in Barcelona as a Ferrari edge.

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Pirelli Raises Blanket

Pirelli raised the intermediate tyre blanket temperature from 60 °C to 70 °C, causing the Miami race start to shift from 4 pm to 1 pm because of forecast thunderstorms.
Teams say the hotter blanket slows heating of the compound, makes it feel too robust and causes warm-up problems.
Simone Berra said the increase will be evaluated if rain, after Pirelli tested a Ferrari on a wet Fiorano track in April and in Japan.

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