Formula one drivers criticise Pirelli tyres
Bridgestone’s departure from Formula One acted as catalyst to get Pirelli tyres back in the F1 business.
Several leading drivers supported this move as being productive and good for the sport. However, the pre-season testing in Valencia only resulted in controversy. Many drivers voiced concern about the new tyres and said they were not comfortable, yet many
others supported the tyres and said they could not understand any reason other than political for the Pirelli-bashing that some were indulging in.
Seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher said he had faced stability problems with the new tyres. He said Pirelli lacked stability with respect to varying compound options. Schumacher likened the feeling to “driving on ice”. He felt the car too jumpy when
the tyres were not up to the race optimal temperature. However, he did not condemn the tyres and kept supporting Pirelli. “They are still in the testing phase and trying things out. I believe they will deal with the situation well.”
Robert Kubica, the quickest driver on Day 3 of the test session, was not happy with his tyre wear. He questioned Pirelli’s durability during the race. “Let's say they have quite big degradation. So it will be very important to manage them better and maybe
change a bit of the set-up in order to make them last longer and extract more performance from them."
Fernando Alonso, the fastest man on day two of the session, also had the same problems. He also pointed out the low stock that they had had to face. “The tyres degrade a lot, they are not very consistent at the moment and we are very limited in terms of
the number of tyres as well, you have to keep one set of tyres for the whole morning, and then maybe put one set for half of the afternoon and one at the end. It's difficult to make set-up changes and to really get an answer at the moment on those,” he said.
However, not all drivers were troubled by the new tyres. Felipe Massa said he was pleased with the performance of the new Pirellis. “I think that the fact there is a definite level of degradation is a positive thing in terms of the spectacle, In my opinion,
there is not that much that needs changing and I think Pirelli is working in the right direction.” he added.
Pirelli Motorsport Director Paul Hembery said the feedback had been very positive. “First and foremost, we've enjoyed perfect reliability over the three days, which has enabled the teams to get on with their test programmed at a crucial time of year as they
launch their new cars,” he said.
He blamed the hectic test schedule for the degradation of the tyres. “Naturally, they've all been running a very wide range of different configurations and set-ups here, so there's no point looking too closely at the times. What's more important is that
the feedback we've received from the drivers and a team so far has been very positive, and it's been a great pleasure to work with them all.”
It is important for Pirelli to come out with a tougher formula for its tyres. The new rules by FIA allow the use of a moveable rear wing to encourage overtaking during the races. But aggressive driving would see the tyres being quickly eaten up and drivers
would have to be forced to a more conservative in their approach.
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