McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh defends Pirelli tyres for 2011 season – Formula 1 news
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has defended Pirelli tyres and said that most of the teams are being cruel in their comments against the sole tyre supplier of the 2011 Formula 1 season.
He further justified that the high wear rate was demanded by Formula One Teams Association to make things interesting.
After finishing 11 days of testing, most of the teams were saying that Pirelli lacks development and they wear out much quicker than the 2010 tyres, Bridgestone.
McLaren’s Jenson Button even said that the Pirelli tyres also do not have a good balance. Pirelli defended themselves on many forums and said that the tyres are manufactured keeping in mind the Formula 1 regulations and demands, as they wanted more pit-stops
to induce more overtaking.
In 2010, the tyre behaviour was such as the fuel got less, the reduced weight and extra momentum was carried by the tyres. Also, when the tyres got older their grip became good. Pirelli has taken a 180 degree turn in tyre development, as their tyre loses
grip when it gets old as its wear rate cancels out the fuel weight, making it even for fuel-wear phenomena.
Whitmarsh said, “We complain about high wear, but no one talks about the good grip of the tyres when new. The wear can only be high because the grip when new is high.”
He further said that for drivers it is easy to point out the wrongs about the tyres but no one appreciated the fact that Pirelli has a higher grip than Bridgestone, when new.
He said, “Now we publicly criticise the degradation of these (Pirelli) tyres. The job of tyre-supplier is a thankless one, as the higher wear is a feature that was requested to make the show better.”
Nevertheless, the season will start in Australia on March 27, 2011 and there is still one pre-season test to take place at Barcelona. As there is no other supplier of tyres this year, teams will have a good chance in this test session, if they learn to cope
up with the Pirelli rubber.
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