Bahrain GP: Pirelli F1 chief has defended the 2021 prototype tyres after criticism from Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
After mocking criticism from Lewis Hamilton yesterday, Pirelli F1 chief has come to defend the 2021 prototype tyres tested yesterday at Bahrain GP’s free practice. Hamilton called the tyres heavier and slower than the current construction. Here is the entire video of his post-session comments:
Stung by the comments, Pirelli F1 chief has defended the new tyres, clarifying it was introduced after consultation with all the stakeholders. Very crucially, he pointed out the testing yesterday was to collect data by the teams, not test its performance. This is where the likes of Hamilton and Verstappen have erred in their judgment.
“We discussed the introduction of the new tyre, together with the teams and together with the FIA, we explained the reason behind that, and we got the homologation from the FIA. And we took the opportunity to give the new specification to the teams in order to collect data and to have useful information on the tyres.”
Pirelli Formula 1 boss Mario Isola has defended the company’s 2021 tyres as drivers voiced their concerns after running them in practice ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday:https://t.co/W86ZJPKQ1Z
— Autosport (@autosport) November 27, 2020
Pirelli to continue with the F1 2021 tyres
Isola also confirmed that they will continue with these prototypes for next season, despite Hamilton’s suggestion against it. Pirelli has put in a lot of effort to develop their tyres to help with downforce, and it would be criminal to negate their efforts.
“We are not discussing the possibility to go back to the current tyre. And to be honest, we don’t want to go back to the current tyre, because we did our job, we made a tyre that is more resistant to integrity, that was the main target.”
“This is why I don’t think there is a reason to go back to the previous tyre. There is always a discussion, if I look back, every time we try to introduce something new, how can I say, some people are not happy.
“Natural resistance to changes in F1” – Mario Isola
Isola termed the criticism a part of the “natural resistance to changes in F1”. He has also asked the drivers to provide specific details on the issues they are facing. Max Verstappen had spoken about the understeer, but that has got to do with the tyres not being in line with the current set up of the cars.
“But there is a sort of natural resistance to changes in F1, and that’s part of the job.”
“If there is opposition, I want to understand why there is opposition. Because if the opposition is that there is a little bit less grip, as long as the tyres are the same for everybody, it’s not a disadvantage for somebody. If the opposition is that there is a bit of understeer, they’ve just thought about the car.”
“I can understand that, because I consider that they are running on cars that have been optimised on the current tyre since two years now, because they are the same tyre that they use in 2019.”
