Two world champions, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, showed their concerns regarding tyres operating window.
Pirelli tyres have to be keep with in range to juice them out for longer duration. This has caused “dangerous” situation for drivers during qualifying session in Formula 1.
Some circuits demands from drivers to maintain a balance between their tyres and pace. They struggle to keep up close with the cars ahead of them and to exploit slipstream.
Multiple events have been witnessed where drivers failed to start Q3 on time. The frustration grew when few laps went unproductive for them to gain on their competitors.
During first run of Q3 at Belgian, Hamilton struggled with controls. Vettel also complained about his experience on track during Q3.
He expressed his anger and consider that to be “a mess”. He struggled to find the right pace where he could enjoy slipstream while maintaining the right conditions for the tyres.
However, Vettel asserted that the tyre management issue shall not be dealt by a rule change.
He expressed his opinion on the matter immediately after the qualifying session with the press. He said, “What should change, what we should take from this, is that tyre-wise we shouldn’t be so much on the limit.
“Obviously you’re fighting for a tow and so on but you’re also fighting to get into the optimum window, which years ago it wasn’t that critical, whereas now it is.”
Tyre management issue also depends on track. The German driver is concerned that severity of issue may escalate at Italian Grand Prix.
” You’re fighting for the best spot on the track which will hit the peak next week in Monza for finding the right tow because it does make a difference. It has also been part of those type of track, let’s say, but I feel if we had better tyres we could play with probably a bit more speed and so on.”
Hamilton believes that Pirelli’s recommended pressure is also a contributory factor.
“I agree with Seb,” said Hamilton. “Every weekend they put the pressures up so high it’s crazy, which again makes it a little bit harder for us. The tyres are so hard so getting them working.”
