Pirelli abandon new tyres as teams block plans

F1 Fanatic round-up

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In the round-up: Pirelli will not bring modified tyres to the British Grand Prix after teams failed to reach an agreement on their introduction.

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Teams block Pirelli’s plans to change Formula 1 tyres (BBC)

“The Italian company wanted to change the construction of the rear tyres following a series of failures this year. But the change was controversial and was blocked by some teams, who feared it would affect their competitiveness.”

New Jersey race on track for 2014, according to race promoter (Autosport)

Race promoter Leo Hindery: “We are on track for June 2014. It was nobody’s fault but mine [that it didn’t happen in 2013], it’s a Rubik’s cube that has had to come together.”

Sergio Perez feels his driving is being more closely examined after move to McLaren (Sky)

Perez: “If you look at my race last year in Monaco (with Sauber) I started last, and I made five or six moves into the chicane, and yet nobody commented on those.”

Pirelli wants help in the future following Mercedes test row (Autosport)

Paul Hembery: “It is very hard when you are being criticised: you know you can solve things or change things, and you are not allowed to. That is something we don’t want to have to go through again.”

Holy City turns racetrack for F1 Peace Roadshow (France 24)

“The Ferrari and Marussia Formula One teams were burning rubber in the first Jerusalem F1 Peace Roadshow on Thursday, roaring around the Holy City at speeds of up to 240 kilometres (150 miles) per hour.”

Ecclestone backing Pirelli over Mercedes Test (Speed)

Ecclestone: “Pirelli were doing the right thing, obviously. They couldn’t get out of a tire problem. If there had been proper testing, which there should be, they wouldn’t be in this problem. It’s only because there’s no proper testing that they’re in this problem.”

VIDEO: Ferrari F138 update package (F1.com)

“Ferrari’s impressive form in Canada – second for Fernando Alonso and a battling eighth for Felipe Massa – came off the back of a package of major updates that was successfully introduced to the F138 ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona (which Alonso won). In this video we take a closer look at the key areas in which the Scuderia have made changes.”

Tweets

Comment of the day

With the dates of the Silverstone Young Drivers Test confirmed, @JackySteeg is going to try and attend, whether allowed to or not…

A friend and I tried to attend a GP2 test during the 2011 GP2 pre-season at Silverstone but we were kindly told we weren’t allowed into the circuit because it was an active construction site (the new wing was still being built).

But we parked on the roads in Silverstone Village, walked around the outside of the circuit and found plenty of gaps in the fence that we could view the cars through. No real places to sit or anything but we still had a reasonably good view from the grassy verge by the road. It was an unseasonably warm spring afternoon so it was actually a lovely day out! And as far as I know, these gaps still exist.

Obviously there may be better security for a "closed" F1 test but I’m definitely going to try to attend, even if I have to sit on a grassy roundabout again!
@JackySteeg

From the forum

How quickly could an F1 car catch a road car on the motorway from a standing start? @andae23 knows the answer…

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Sudhakar, Sankarjune14, Tifoso1989 and Winterwarmer!

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

John Miles turns 70 today. The former Lotus driver was Jochen Rindt’s team mate in the fateful 1970 season, when Rindt lost his life in Italy and later became champion posthumously.

Miles’ car was withdrawn at that race, and his place was taken by Reine Wisell thereafter. He did not return to F1 but continued to work with Lotus.

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71 comments on “Pirelli abandon new tyres as teams block plans”

  1. Is the “speedy” part of Rodolfo’s username meant to be ironic?

  2. Bolt was driving a Formula E car.

    1. Hmmm, I’m not sure about that… it looks like a Mercedes to me…. now hang on a minute this is getting ridiculous!

      1. LOL nice one, but it’s Formula E and it’s funny as hell

      2. Haha! Brilliant!

      3. OmarR-Pepper (@)
        14th June 2013, 1:05

        part of another secret test?

      1. @our_nige Wow, yeah I’d say that’s absolutely what it is, nice spot.

      2. Well spotted!

      3. See above. Crappy Formula E car.

        1. Its definitely an A23. Not a Formula E car. Formtech have the i.p to the A23 so I would think it’s come from there. They privided the ‘Marussia’ that was on A league of their own, although that was more of an SA05 than A23

          1. I should say, its an A23 chassis. No idea whats inside it

    2. I hate shoddy journalism. If they don’t know it’s an F1 car, call it a single seater racing car. It’s forgiveable in a tweet with a character limit (although you think the fact that the car was silent would be a talking point nonetheless), but somebody wrote the same thing in a BBC article.

    3. I don’t know how he fits in that thing.

    4. Traverse (@)
      14th June 2013, 16:30

      I bet he could out run it over 100M. Anyone fancy a wager?

      1. Traverse (@)
        14th June 2013, 16:36

        Here’s the hilarious footage of Usain driving the car in question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMs9iI1RShA

      2. @hellotraverse na, F1 car’s would pretty conclusively beat Bolt (I recall Lotus once posting that one could cover 100m in just over 4 seconds) so I don’t imagine a Formula e, with the torque it has, would be much slower!

      3. JimmyTheIllustratedBlindSolidSilverBeachStackapopolis III
        14th June 2013, 21:06

        9 seconds to 100 meters? in 9 seconds a f1 car is at 200mph. I think bolt could beat it over 30 meters max. I would quite like to see this though now you have raised the idea.

  3. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    14th June 2013, 1:32

    When you think about it, it’s probably for the best that Pirelli aren’t implementing the modified compounds, because of the low deg nature of the rest of the circuits from here (Silverstone) on out.

    All these Tilke-dromes are incredibly smooth.

    Should make for some good racing.

    1. Tilke-dromes and good racing do not belong anywhere near each other.

    2. not sure if that’s true – the tires aren’t really degrading mechanically it’s the thermal degradation in highspeed corners that causes most problems and Tilke’s have some of those

  4. No **** Perez. You are driving for McLaren now, what did you expect?

    1. JimmyTheIllustratedBlindSolidSilverBeachStackapopolis III
      14th June 2013, 14:30

      Exactly this since before the season started he said he would be under more pressure at mclaren than ever before but he was looking forward to it.

  5. I’ve always been in favour of keeping the tyres the way they are because I know that the second half of the season is different, circuits are easier on the tyres, teams understand them better, etc. It was a rush decision that was only going to benefit a team that’s been winning for the past 3 years and another that cheats.

    1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
      14th June 2013, 3:32

      well @mantresx the team winning for the past 3 years is currently winning (again and despite not having the car suited to the rubber on the first races). Looks again like the wrong decisions made by the other teams (especially about Ferrari’s not calling Alonso for the broken nose and letting him use the DRS after having it glitched in that other race; and Lotus for not trying on the second seat with another driver right away) are being really costly and will make RedBull success look easier, when actually, they were really struggling at first. What you can say about Red Bull is that they are consistent in all their fronts that matter (pit work, engineering, drivers), and porbably their only weakness is PR but that doesn’t have effect on the points.

      1. I also admire Red Bull for being a very good team in pretty much every aspect and I don’t mind if they win another championship this year, but only if they do it on merit (that’s why I’m glad the tyres wont be changing).

        The one thing that annoys me though, is that Horner should have more confidence in his technical team, he should know they’re more than capable of fixing RB’s tyre issues instead of lashing out against Pirelli after only 5 races.

        1. I don’t think it’s a lack of confidence in the team’s ability to solve the tyre problems, but rather a fear that someone else will solve the same problem faster and better than Red Bull and win the championship.

          In other words, they’re afraid someone will be able to beat them.

  6. I hope this marks the beginning of the end of all the tyre talk/complaining. (I know it won’t be, but one can hope)

    I can’t speak for everyone else but I’m sick of it.

    1. Maybe that’s why Pirelli organised the Barcelona test: to force the issue out into the open. Before details of the test came to light, everyone was engaged into a sort of cold war, bickering back and forth in the media without ever talking about it directly. Since then, the issue has taken centre stage, and while the teams still complain, they’re being pretty forthright about it. They’re no longer trying to bully Pirelli into making changes that are good for them and no-one else.

      1. But Pirelli organised it in private with mercedes, and not to get it out in the open :P

    2. +1

      Trying to bring my collegue into F1 this season (as tv-spectator, not driver :). His first question after watching a full race was “what’s all this talk about tyres?”. Hopefully we can now focus on pit strategies and overtaking-cojones.

    3. I’m sick of it as well. Hopefully we wont hear one of Sebastian’s rants again about his so called “safety concerns”.. that’s the only thing that can get this debate started again.

    4. The tyres are rubbish, a disgrace to the sport. The racing they produce has been farcical at times. They are also dangerous.

      None of this changes based on Lotus vetoing tyre alterations.

      1. Ecclestone: “Pirelli were doing the right thing, obviously. They couldn’t get out of a tire problem. If there had been proper testing, which there should be, they wouldn’t be in this problem. It’s only because there’s no proper testing that they’re in this problem.”

        And then he goes on to say that Mercedes should have refused to test. Which I read means that all teams should have refused the test. So exactly how was F1 to help Pirelli out of the problem they themselves created by wanting these tires and not allowing enough testing for them? And why would there even be a clause in Pirelli’s contract to test, if ideally all teams should have refused to help? This is why I think Mercedes must have been confident they had permission to do this extraordinary test (FIA/Pirelli permission), or else for sure they would have refused to do it. And this is why I think they can not be punished very harshly if at all given that this is a tire problem, as BE acknowledges.

        1. JimmyTheIllustratedBlindSolidSilverBeachStackapopolis III
          14th June 2013, 21:27

          typical bernie really since the issue isn’t even about if they were allowed to test they were, ferrari did and they have no problem its just about the car used.

  7. Fikri Harish (@)
    14th June 2013, 5:17

    The only reason Perez has been getting so much flak for his Monaco mishaps was because the victim was Raikkonen.
    If it was any other driver, I’m sure we won’t be talking about this anymore.

    1. Maybe, maybe not. Imagine the uproar if he would have done the same at Monaco to Rosberg or Vettel or Hamilton or Webber or… Also, seemed like he received a lot of attention over Button in other races.

      I really don’t mind drivers with an agressive driving style, until they start knocking cars off the track. Hamilton and Webber mixed it up pretty well at Monaco without taking each other out.

    2. Try telling that to Grosejan. One move on Alonso and he is now mentally drained

  8. “Sergio Perez feels his driving is being more closely examined after move to McLaren”

    Attention Sergio Perez, H2O called to inform you that water is wet.

    1. Give the man a bloody medal.

  9. Dear Sergio,
    Silverstone called. Canada said bye.
    It’s all OVER
    Signed Monaco

  10. I was shocked to see the tweet on Usain Bolt. Anything with 2 wings and four open wheels is called a Formula 1 car. Ignorance aside, I am at least happy that F1 is popular enough among the non-fans to be the first thing to strike them. Sometimes I wonder whether F1 fans have become a small isolated clique, totally out of touch with the rest of the world.

    1. Funny that @kimrogue and @matt90, from the pictures in the article posted about it above, and the link @our_nige posted, it seems that in fact Bolt WAS driving an F1 car (be it a modified one)!

    2. I had the exact same feeling, until it was revealed that it genuinly was an F1-chassis…

      1. David not Coulthard (@)
        14th June 2013, 18:30

        Chassis……

  11. Not changing the tires is only fair even though the current spec makes for awful racing. For this year we can only hope that engineers figure out a way to deal with them in all conditions so we can’t predict race results with the weather forecast.

  12. Well, if somebody gets injured or has their race/championship ruined by a delaminations tyre, then it’s on those teams who blocked the changes.

    1. That seems to be exactly what the writer of the article wants his readers to think.

      The fact is, a tyre can always fail and cause injuries. I haven’t seen any delimitations in recent races, so who knows, maybe the article a while ago saying that Pirelli never was good at consistent quality control for any class has some merit to it.

      Regardless of Pirelli’s build quality of wether or not they should change the tyres, the FIA, Bernie or the teams might have to do some damage control soon, because the press Pirelli has been getting so far, especially from the teams, would be enough for a lot of companies to not return the next year.

      At this point, I wouldn’t blame them either..

      1. @npf1 it’s true we always have failures but usually they have an external cause, and I’m not convinced they do in these cases. Sure, the Massa one in Bahrain was caused by debris and so at the time I put the failures down to that and supported Pirelli but I began to have concrens with Di Resta’s and Vergne’s failures, as it seems there was no apparent reason for those failures. Monaco and Canada are very low-stress on the tyres in terms of aerodynamic loading and lateral forces so the real test of these tyre’s structural integrity will come in Silverstone and particurarly Spa Francorchamps. I hope they hold up for the sake of the sport.

      2. The fact is, a tyre can always fail and cause injuries.

        Its more the way these tyres are failing thats the problem.

        When your doing 150mph+ & the tread suddenly comes apart you have big chunks of heavy tyre debris flying around & those bits of tyre debris have a lot of energy behind them.
        If a tyre delaminates & the chunks of rubber hit the driver behind, Or worse hit a marshall, spectator or someone else at trackside thats going to cause an injury.

        I know that Pirelli say the delaminations are caused by debris, But if thats true even thats a worry when you think about it as the number of failures seen this year indicates that the 2013 tyres are more prone to debris damage than past tyres & that in itself should be cause for concern.

    2. @vettel1 It won’t, “safety” was just the line of defending their pressure on Pirelli for Red Bull and nothing more. If there was a real danger, changes could have been made instantly without teams’ consent. They weren’t made, with full backing from FIA. You really think the safety-crazy FIA would have let the tires be the same if they really posed significant danger? So let us end this tire farce and enjoy the rest of the season, shall we?

      Btw. You really sound like the man whose name you’ve picked for your username.

    3. I agree with you , cause i think there are are a lot of interests in f1 . Nowadays it is not a sport but a huge factory in Wich the teams who have more economic capabilities can decide about all , without thinking about improving and making this sport safer… sorry for my bad english…

    4. For me that’s the last thing i want to happen even if you know how much of a die hard Ferrari fan i’m, i prefer that Ferrari don’t win the WDC with every driver safe on the grid rather than win it because a competitor was injured.
      AS for Red Bull & Sebastian Vettel who are trying to play the safety card to push for the change, i can tell them the following :
      In this sport risk will be always present, when you are travelling at 320 KPH there is always a risk imagine at that speed a steering column,the brakes or the wings fail it will be same for the tyres
      If the Bulls are so concerned about the safety they can remove that massive downforce from their car so the tyres won’t fail after all the tyres where tested last year & even us the fans we knew that they are going to be aggressive how about F1 engineers
      BTW isn’t Red Bull the team that played with the camber’s angle and pushed it to the limit in the 2011 Belgian GP, a tyre failure at eau rouge or blanchimant is also very dangerous , Newey himself realized that & said after the race that it was one of the scariest race ever that he took part in, so playing the safety card now isn’t good when we know that in the recent past they have been involved in what could have caused serious accident to their drivers

      1. @tifoso1989 the difference between the Spa event and the current issue is that was very much self-induced. Red Bull suffered those problems because they ignored the guidelines. However, it isn’t supposed to be the case that teams have to change downforce levels for the sake of preventing the tyres delaminating – the supplier should ensure that their product can take the stresses a modern car can throw at it in much the same way it is the duty of the track designers to ensure the track doesn’t break up as it did in the 80’s on many occasions – not the team’s to ensure their cars don’t put too much energy through it!

        So really I’m beyond the point of caring whether they change the compounds and they can keep these current constructions as well, provided there are no more delaminations! I’m in agreeance that I wouldn’t really care who it benefited if the driver’s weren’t at risk of injury due to an unsafe tyre being used.

      2. Oh and happy birthday @tifoso1989!

        1. @vettel1 Thank you very much Max!!!!!!!!!

  13. When are we seeing Again a f1 competition based on drivers talent and not on Tyres degradation?

    1. But it is the driver’s talent that is required to manage the degradation of these tires, we’ve seen that. If not for the tires then I fear people would complain that F1 is simply a competition between engineers, pit crews, mechanics, strategists, wind tunnels, or the mesh design of their CFD models. F1 is a chain of lynch-pins and pulling at one will only present two others.

      1. Personally I don’t perceive an F1 driver’s talent is being pushed to the limit when he is driving around at speeds dictated by the engineers. Too fast and you kill the tires prematurely…too slow and they’re too cold and less effective. There’s talent in managing tires normally, sure, but I don’t think this is very normal, and it takes a ton away from F1 in my eyes, knowing that the drivers are there to monitor the tires, not race on them. Even at Monaco, which was supposed to be easy on the tires SV, near the end, put in a lap 2 seconds faster just to make the point that they could be driving way faster but are held back by the tires. So I don’t get the impression that drivers are showing talent when they doddle around on these tires…just showing that they can and will do as they’re told and hope the engineers strategy, obviously heavily based on tires, works in the end.

        1. I like the way you put it.

  14. I have to say: all politics aside, a Jerusalem street GP would be pretty awesome.

  15. So teams can now overrule Safety Measures?
    This whole thing is a joke!

  16. I copied this from an interview with Paul Hemberey in Autosport

    Hembery believes that a good starting point to make Pirelli better able to do its job would be more access to testing, but he thinks that F1’s tyre supplier should have a bigger influence on the rules too.

    “We have to look at the process of change. The first thing is the test. We don’t know yet the full details of next year’s car, we have got some indications from the power train about what that might do, but we are not going to get on a car until February.

    Would that be one hande tied behind the back, or two?

    1. I’ve really messed up these quote thingies!

  17. So, on the tires, to emulate Steve Matchett,

    “When the teams said that they want changes in the tires for safety what they meant is that they want them to stay exactly the same — unless the change makes other teams less competitive.”

  18. If the tyres are dangerous, they should not be raced. That’s what the teams decided at Indy in 2005, what’s so different now? Mind you, the tyres held pretty well at Montreal, which is known for being quite tough on tyres.

    1. Actually Montreal was stated this year as going to be easier on these tires because of the lack of high speed corners there, which ended up being the case. I expect the same ugly issues to reappear in Britain unless it rains or is cool, but even then it has some high speed corners so it should be interesting to see.

  19. Abdurahman (@)
    15th June 2013, 0:38

    Exactly how many delaminations were there?

    1. Hamilton’s in FP and two for Massa in Bahrain, then one each for Di Resta and Vergne in Spain – so 5 by my count (unless I’ve missed any)!

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