It was announced earlier this month by the organisers of the WEC, the FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, that the new-for-2023 ban on tyre pre-heating would be temporarily suspended for the centrepiece race at La Sarthe, after a number of accidents in the previous race at Spa prompted widespread calls for a rethink on the ruling.
Kobayashi was among the most vocal about the potential safety hazards posed by not being able to use tyre warmers in the cool temperatures at Spa.
