Pirelli vuole parlare con la FIA

(Motorsport-Total.com) – Pirelli wants to discuss a change in the tire rules with the FIA and the Formula 1 teams, after the second practice in Suzuka revealed a weakness in the system that caused hardly any driver to want to drive in the rain on Friday.

Most drivers wanted to save tires in the afternoon and only left the garage when the conditions were dry enough for slicks. The lack of action left fans frustrated, and seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton complained about the new rules that led to this situation.

“It’s a shame we didn’t get this session,” Hamilton said. “They changed the tire rule so that no one drives on intermediates anymore, which actually doesn’t make sense. But that’s how it is now.”

Hamilton refers to a change in the Formula 1 regulations made over the winter, which is supposed to provide all teams with more tires for wet conditions. Instead of four sets of intermediates and two sets of full-wets available in 2023, now teams can use five intermediates and three full-wets per Grand Prix weekend.

New rule prevents activity

As part of the agreement allowing these additional tire sets, a rule was abolished that basically provided teams with a free tire on wet Fridays. If one of the two Friday sessions was declared wet, any driver using that tire type in the session received an additional set of intermediates at events without sprint races.

This encouraged teams to drive in the session as there was no disadvantage to using an intermediate. Now, however, teams would be missing a set of tires compared to rivals if they used them on Friday, which is why so few drivers drove on intermediates in Suzuka on Friday.

According to Pirelli’s chief engineer Simone Berra, the rule change was something they had no say in: “This was obviously decided by all teams together with the FIA and Formula 1,” he said. “Now a team no longer has to return a set of intermediates after using them in free practice, as was the case last year.”

“Especially on this track, where wear is very high, and considering that it could rain on Sunday, most teams have chosen to leave the five sets unused – except for RB and other teams that drove one out lap and one in lap,” Berra said.

Pirelli has a proposal

“We will continue to discuss this with the FIA and the teams to find a way to use them in practice. Ultimately, it’s not our decision, but it will be a topic we will discuss in the coming weeks.”

One possible trick, according to him, could be to force teams to return a set of intermediates after a session declared wet.

“You can keep the five sets from the start, but if a session is declared wet, you must return a set of intermediates,” he said. “It makes no sense not to use them and instead return a new set. This can encourage driving.”