FIA allow only minor changes for Pirelli

After much debate and complaining by teams such as Red Bull regarding the extreme degradation of the tyres, Pirelli announced they are going to revert back to the 2012 tyre construction by the Canadian Grand Prix, although the 2013 compounds will remain. However, the FIA have said only minor changes will be allowed for safety reasons indicating the 2013 tyres will stay.

I was going to write about how the apparent change by Pirelli should have been made at the end of the season. Teams such as Lotus and Ferrari have designed their cars to suit the tyres and it is hardly their fault if the likes of Red Bull and Mercedes have failed to do as good a job. 

Red Bull in particular has expressed their dissatisfaction with the tyres to a great extent despite winning two races so far this year. They are suffering because their car produces a great deal of down force, but they cannot exploit this as it degrades the tyres too quickly.

Over the last few days Lotus and Ferrari have aired their views that their cars are looking after the tyres better as they used the information Pirelli gave them of the 2013 compounds and designed accordingly. They see no reason to change especially after what looks like persistent lobbying from Red Bull, and after what were fairly perceived to be an excessive amount of pit stops at the last race in Spain.

In truth I’m sure all teams would have got a grip on the tyre situation by mid-season, Pirelli admit they’ve gone too far with the degradation, but there were similar headlines in 2011 and 2012 but by the end of the season there were many two or one stop races as the teams adjusted.

I think the reaction has been a bit much, although I would like to see more of a return to drivers being able to push a bit more without hearing constant radio messages about looking after the tyres. However a change such as this should be made for next year without upsetting the current competitive environment.

We also shouldn’t forget that Pirelli have done a great deal of good for the sport over the last few years which have produced a great deal of fantastic racing. So they’ve gone a bit far this season, but people are quick to forget that a few years ago there were plenty of races where there was no passing at all resulting in many follow the leader at a respectful distance races.

As I’ve written before looking after tyres, or fuel or whatever isn’t actually an unusual thing for Formula 1, it’s been like that most of the time, perhaps with the exception of flat out hard tyre refuelling sprints, even then you had to be mechanically sensitive.

Having said all that it has been reported on Autosport.com that the FIA has said the tyres will remain in 2013 specification with slight tweaks in regards to the tyre delamination’s that occurred in Bahrain and Spain.

Autosport says:  ‘The FIA is basing its stance on Article 12.6.3 of the technical 
regulations, which has also been cited by teams to Pirelli amid questions about the legality of a bid to change the specification.

The rule states: "Tyre specifications will be determined by the FIA no later than 1 September of the previous season. Once determined in this way, the specification of the tyres will not be changed during the championship season without the agreement of all competing teams."’

This will come as a blow to Red Bull, but bring satisfaction to Lotus and Ferrari. It looks to mean that any changes to the tyres will be minor and should maintain the current order and I think that that is only fair. Any further changes I would expect to be made if Pirelli renew their contract for next year.

This clarification by the FIA is to be welcomed, you shouldn’t just change the rules with barely a quarter of the season over.

It isn’t the best situation in the world, but it’s the one we’ve got and the teams who are suffering should be pushing harder to rectify their problems rather than constantly moaning about it.

It’s Monaco next and for anyone who's tired of tyres, they should hopefully be low on the agenda as it has a low degradation surface so they can concentrate on racing.

photo taken from autosport.com

Tyres, tyres and tyres again

Here's a quick word on the tyre debate, I'll keep this short as it's been done to death at the moment. Autosport.com has two interesting stories on their website today one comes from Red Bull, the other regards Lotus.

Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has said Formula 1 isn’t racing anymore and wants the tyres changed as Red Bull can't get the best out of their car or drivers with the current Pirelli tyres.

Of course there are two perspectives the other voiced by Lotus, their car is more than capable of managing the tyres successfully and think it would be unfair to make a significant change now. It’s a debate that will rumble on, but Pirelli should not be overly influenced by calls from teams who want it changed just because their cars can’t make the best use out of them.

The teams knew the route Pirelli were going to go down, they even had the opportunity to test early constructions at the end of last year. I don't think it would be fair to then compromise teams which have made a car which can live with the tyres in favour of ones that haven't. At the moment it is a minority who complain. 

However, I do think Pirelli have gone a bit too far, it begins to make a mockery of the fastest sport in the world when you hear radio traffic from teams telling their drivers to slow down or not fight in aid of preserving the tyres. Perhaps they do need a rethink, but whether that should come this year is another matter entirely. 

Admittedly the Spanish Grand Prix wasn't the greatest advertisement to racing there has ever been, but other races this year have been enhanced by the mixed up strategies the tyres can bring.

Pirelli are considering alterations by the British Grand Prix, I would say if they do make any changes that they don't make too many that would drastically alter the competitive order. It's up to the teams to find a solution to circumstances that have been with them all year. If Ferrari and Lotus can deal with the tyres I'm sure everyone else can.

Mercedes fight the tyres

Ever since Pirelli returned to the sport in 2011 Mercedes have struggled with tyre issues. It seems inherent in the design of their cars and it just can’t be removed. It’s not a bad thing to be able to heat your tyres up quickly and get them in the operating temperature quickly, on occasions over the last 2 seasons, that’s been a distinct benefit especially when it comes to one lap pace.

But too often these past few years a good starting position has been totally compromised by the tyres falling apart on them despite various attempts to alleviate the issue. I’ve lost count of just how many technical directors and other personnel Mercedes have hired over the past year with still more to come, so to have ended up with pretty much the exact same problem that has plagued them for several years is totally unacceptable.

Team principal Ross Brawn is aware of the issue, and despite what appears to be Mercedes moving into a new management position with the hirings of Toto Wolf, Niki Lauda (in the managerial side) and Paddy Lowe (on the technical side) amongst many others, I still think it is in Brawn they should trust.

I’m not exactly sure why they appear to be undermining Brawn, it certainly comes across that way at least, but he is still one of the most successful people in Formula 1 and he will get it right; all past evidence points to that. Although the fact that Mercedes feel the need to have appointed these new technical people points to the fact the board don’t feel they’re being successful quickly enough.

There’s no doubt they can design a quick car, this year’s is awesomely fast, while last years could also show a decent turn of speed. But it is in tyre management where a new design philosophy is needed. Lewis Hamilton was left baffled after yesterday’s drop down the grid.

He said "Today I was doing absolutely everything the same as I did in Bahrain. But I had no grip, I couldn't push, and if I did, the tyre just went off immediately. I'm absolutely lost today. I don't know what went wrong."

It is exactly the reverse of the last race in Bahrain. There Lewis managed the tyres well enough to secure 5^th while Nico Rosberg started from pole position and plummeted down the order.

In Spain they locked out the front row with Nico again on pole, but this time Lewis just dropped like a stone while Rosberg managed to maintain a degree of respectability.

Afterwards when being interviewed by Sky when asked if they were looking forward to Monaco, they both replied they weren’t even thinking about the next race, usually that’s the stock answer whatever the result, but perhaps they can’t bear to think about another race of trying to drive conservatively and still falling down the pack.

In Monaco it should be different, last year Rosberg finished second while Michael Schumacher set the fastest qualifying lap. Tyre degradation shouldn’t be as much of an issue and given that Mercedes seem to produce good traction they might just be in with a shout of victory.

It’s one they’ll have to take as there are plenty of other places left where tyres will be critical and they look no nearer to sorting out the problem after three weeks of trying to find a solution between Bahrain and Spain. Championship contenders they are not, but race winners they certainly should be if they can make the tyres last for at least one race.

As a side note, Nico Rosberg has been impressive this year. Lewis Hamilton has come into the team with the reputation of the fastest driver in Formula 1 and Rosberg has more than held his own so far, he’s set pole at the last two races.

It is still early days and Lewis does have double the points of Nico although that can be explained through unreliability on Rosberg’s car but Damon Hill made an interesting point during Sky’s Spanish Grand Prix coverage. He said it puts Schumacher’s performances in a new light.

Schumacher out qualified Rosberg an equal amount of times last year, while also often out racing him. If Rosberg can continue to look good alongside Hamilton then perhaps a re-evaluation of just how successful Schumacher was in his comeback is due.

However, like I said it’s still early days and Lewis is in a new team and may come to dominate Rosberg, but so far Nico is enhancing is reputation and by dint of that re-enhancing Schumacher’s. It’s at least an interesting perspective.

all photo's from autosport.com