Pirelli has responded to Lewis Hamilton’s plea to supply higher rain tyres after System 1’s Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying needed to be postponed for adversarial climate circumstances.
Qualifying at Sao Paulo was first delayed and in the end postponed to Sunday morning following heavy rain showers and thunderstorms, which brought on standing water on numerous elements of the circuit.
Regardless of the perfect efforts of the marshals, extra rain prevented race management from finishing a qualifying session forward of sundown at 18:20 native time, with qualifying instead taking place at 7:30 local time on Sunday morning. With extra rain anticipated, the race time was brought forward to 12:30 to present race management the perfect odds of getting the race within the books.
Explaining the rain delay
Moist climate
Picture by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Pictures
System 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali apologised for the delay to the followers, hoping they might perceive that “to race in these circumstances is not possible”.
Whereas chatting with F1 TV, Domenicali was interrupted by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who urged the F1 chief to ensure Pirelli supplies higher moist tyres and brings again the usage of tyre blankets for its blue-walled compound, which had been solely eliminated final 12 months.
“It is best to’ve despatched us out, that is ridiculous, we should always exit!,” Hamilton advised Domenicali in a pleasant, joking method. “When you give us higher moist tyres or blankets we would be able to run on this. I am placing you on the spot proper now.”
The viability of Pirelli’s moist tyres has lengthy been a degree of criticism amongst F1 drivers. As a result of its intermediate compound is way more performant, Pirelli’s full wets have restricted use because the circumstances during which they’re most popular to intermediates are usually too excessive for F1 automobiles to run in anyway.
Enhancements on the horizon?
Pirelli’s motorsports chief Mario Isola acknowledged that the producer must step up its rain tyre efficiency, with growth ongoing for subsequent 12 months. However he defined that it’s missing moist tyre testing knowledge from probably the most demanding circuits to expand steps, with wet-tyre exams a lot more durable to organise.
“It’s true that we have to enhance the efficiency of the moist tyre to generate a correct crossover with the intermediate,” Isola mentioned.
“That is our goal. Subsequent 12 months we can have a brand new moist tyre with some small modifications, as a result of sadly we did not have the likelihood to have a correct take a look at with the moist tyre on a excessive severity circuit. That’s precisely what we miss.
“We modified a bit of bit the tread sample, labored on the development and on a brand new compound. We discovered an enchancment. I can’t let you know whether it is sufficient or not.”
Isola additionally identified that, whereas he could not converse for FIA race director Niels Wittich and his resolution to name off qualifying on Saturday, there have been probably a number of different security elements behind the postponement of qualifying reasonably than the efficiency of Pirelli’s tyres.
The security automobile on monitor within the moist
Picture by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Pictures
“I do not know why Niels determined to not give it the inexperienced gentle to the session, I do not know whether it is due to visibility, standing water, danger of aquaplaning, or every other ingredient. I did not converse to Niels, so I’ve no info on that.
“If it is simply efficiency [on the wet tyre], it implies that they go slower, that is all. So the quickest of the sluggish automobiles is setting the perfect time.
“We’re absolutely conscious we’ve to enhance the efficiency of the moist tyre. However you possibly can run on these moist tyres, it is not that you simply can’t run.”
As a part of Pirelli’s wet-tyre growth programme, Mercedes took half in a take a look at at Magny-Cours final month. The take a look at was carried out by Mick Schumacher and George Russell, with Hamilton not collaborating.
On the primary day of the take a look at reserve driver Schumacher was restricted to only 29 laps because the monitor was too moist for significant operating, additional underlining F1’s long-standing wet-weather points.
Pirelli’s different choices to check its wet-weather compounds are to move to Fiorano or Paul Ricard, two circuits which have sprinklers put in to moist the monitor floor.