“Three kilos heavier and is like a second worse per lap” – Lewis Hamilton is unimpressed with Pirelli’s 2021 tyres after testing it at free practice of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Despite finishing fastest in free practice, Lewis Hamilton is not pleased with the tyres Pirelli have introduced for the 2021 season. For those unaware, the new Pirelli 2021 tyres are being randomly tested on all drivers during the ongoing Bahrain Grand Prix. He appreciated the effort put by the Pirelli team, but not so much the output in terms of the tyres.
Hamilton on 2021 tyres: Oh god! Uhmm… I am trying my hardest not to say anything. What I want to say is that weekend in and weekend out we have a team from Pirelli. The guys…
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) November 27, 2020
“We’ve got a team here from Pirelli and I have the utmost respect for the guys that load our tyres up, come here and keep us safe and they do an amazing job. Unfortunately, we’ve had the same tyre for the last two years.”
“At the end of 2019 they brought a new tyre, which they normally do, and it was quite a bit worse. So then they said ‘well, we’ll just keep the tyre from last year’.”
“They’ve had two years now to develop a better tyre and we’ve arrived with a tyre that’s three kilos heavier and is like a second worse per lap.”
Lewis Hamilton happy to continue with the current Pirelli rubber
“I know for the fans that doesn’t really make a difference but from a driving point of view, we’re working with brands and partners who are at the forefront of technology and elevating and moving forwards. And if you’re going back, after two years of development, then I don’t know what’s happening. It definitely doesn’t feel good out there and it’s a worry.”
I’d prefer to just stay on these tyres. If that’s all they’ve got and that’s the best they can do, which clearly it is, then it’d be better just to stay with this tyre.”
Max Verstappen and Alex Albon join in the criticism
Alex Albon simply chose to term the Pirelli’s 2021 runner “not very fun to drive on”. That might also be down to this howler from him during the day, but never mind.
Max Verstappen was clearly unimpressed and confirmed the drivers will speak to FIA and Pirelli about it. Safe to say, it seems to be a unanimous view from the paddock about the prototypes.
“It’s difficult to know what components we were running but we were a bit all over the place, to be honest in terms of grip and balance. So we’ll look into that and we’ll speak to Pirelli about it.”
