F1: Hamilton rejects radio criticism

Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has dismissed claims that a ban on pit-to-car radios would make a big difference to the racing.

There has been criticism of late that the amount of information that a driver receives during races, with regards areas such as tires, engine modes and fuel levels, is too high. But Hamilton said drivers get less information than they received a few years ago and he suggested people are just looking for something to blame for perceived problems.

"What do you think's going to happen if they don't tell me about tires?" he said. "I'm still going to drive the same. And if they don't tell us about fuel, maybe more cars won't finish. If that's more exciting, then we can do that. But we get a lot less information now than we did years ago.

"A couple of years ago we had loads more information. I'm not really sure. People are just looking to blame something because they weren't happy about something."

Hamilton highlighted the way the Pirelli tires behave in the current era and fuel consumption challenges as a reason for why assistance from engineers is required.

"With the way these tyres are, the optimal way to get to the end of the race is something we don't have all the information in front of us for," he said. "You can't feel how much fuel you're using, you're driving as fast as you can the majority of the time, so you need some guidance with that.

"With the tires, sometimes as they start to lose rubber it's difficult to feel it, it's very subtle changes. You don't know when temperatures are going to drop, so that's when you need the guidance."

Originally on Autosport.com