Insight: Exploring the Controversial WEC Tire Warmer Ban

The WEC’s ban on tire warmers came into sharp focus at last weekend’s 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps…

A key talking point in the FIA World Endurance Championship paddock at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend was the ban on tire warmers that came into effect this season.

Previously, teams in the WEC could pre-heat their tires using generator-powered ovens situated at the back of the garages, ensuring higher grip for the beginning of a stint.

The WEC’s ban on these ovens and any other kind of pre-heating mechanism was made on sustainability grounds, due to the energy expended. However, one of the major impacts has been a higher chance of accidents on stone cold tires.

It wasn’t a headlining issue at Sebring and Portimao, where temperatures were conducive to organic warmup, but in the chilly and fog-lined Ardennes hills around Spa it was a different story.

Multiple cars in the Hypercar class had off-track moments on new, unheated Michelins, most notably the No. 8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid which Brendon Hartley crashed into the tire barriers at Raidillon in qualifying, and the No. 50 Ferrari 499P which dramatically exited the race when Antonio Fuoco lost control mere meters after leaving the pits.

At the start of the season, several drivers pointed towards Spa as being a major test of the ban.

Ferrari’s James Calado warned that removing tire warmers could put driver safety at risk, particularly at races with low temperatures. Michelin addressed the general concern by successfully requesting to bring an additional third slick compound, the softest in its Hypercar portfolio, to Spa.