Team opinions divided about Pirelli's tyre change decision

Tyre manufacturer Pirelli has decided to forego its plans to change this season’s tyres after failing to secure the support of the teams.

Following a series of tyre delaminations last season, the Italian company wanted to change the construction of the rear tyres.

But the change evolved into a controversial subject for the teams’ who feared that it would directly affect their competitiveness.

While Red Bull and Mercedes were pressuring Pirelli to change the tyres, other teams such as Lotus, Ferrari and Force India refused to join in. The motion cannot be sanctioned without the unanimous support from all the teams as there was no safety concern involved.

These three teams had the least tyre usage while Red Bull and Mercedes tyres have been through extreme courses.

One of the failures in early races occurred when the rear suspension of Lewis Hamilton‘s Mercedes broke during the practice session in Bahrain.

The Pirelli representatives have admitted that the decision to change the tyres was not triggered by safety issue but it was an attempt to rescue their image in the eyes of the public.

Pirelli issued a statement saying: “This decision is due to the fact that the new tyres, which were brought to the Friday free practice sessions in Canada, could not be tested sufficiently due to rain – and that the teams failed to agree unanimously about introducing the changes.”

Source: BBC Sports