F1 tire supplier Pirelli wants to hold talks with teams and governing body FIA over wet tire ruling that appears to have caused surprising lack of action at Suzuka, leaving Lewis Hamilton dissatisfied .
A light rain fell during the second hour of practice ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, leaving the track greasy, but drivers on track despite the threat of continued rain for the rest of the race weekend. It was seriously lacking.
Pirelli wants to discuss F1 rule changes criticized by Lewis Hamilton
The FIA rule in the 2023 Regulations (which allowed drivers to be given an additional set of intermediate tires if they used the set in wet FP1 or FP2, or if there was a high risk of wet in FP3) has been removed and is being criticized. This was because each team was unable to run in the FP2 session at Suzuka as they tried to conserve their tires.
Pirelli’s chief engineer Simone Vera said he believed this was a real situation and called for discussions with the FIA and teams to prevent it from happening again.
“this [rule change] It was obviously voted for by all the teams along with the FIA and F1,” said Berra.
“Obviously these days teams don’t have to return intermediate sets used in free practice like they did last year.
“So, especially on this circuit, most teams, with the exception of RB and other teams, have five sets left unused, considering for example that the degradation is very high and there is a possibility of rain on Sunday.” I decided to leave it “out and in.”
“We will discuss this further with the FIA and the teams to find a way to run it in practice. Ultimately it is not our decision, but it will be a subject of discussion in the coming weeks. ”
And Berra has put forward his own proposal, which would require intermediate sets to be returned after wet sessions, at which point there would be no reason for teams to avoid the course and return new sets.
“They can keep five sets from the start, but if the session is declared wet, they have to move back one intermediate set,” Berra suggested.
“Then there’s no point in not using it, [instead] Please return a new set. So that would be a way to encourage them to run. ”
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Mercedes’ seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has revealed his dissatisfaction with the updated tire ruling, saying it “makes no sense”.
“It’s a shame we didn’t get that.” [FP2] Session,” he said.
“They changed the tire rules so no one is going to go out and run intermediates.
“It doesn’t make any sense, but that’s okay.”
Hamilton’s teammate George Russell also joined in the criticism, calling for a “common sense” solution to be found.
“This is very disappointing for all the fans here, for those watching at home or for those who have traveled three-quarters of the way around the world,” he said. “It’s quite annoying not to run even a lap.
“I hope the FIA will allow all teams to carry over.” [an extra] Usually in FP3 you don’t do many laps, you just practice for qualifying.
“That would be great for us and for the fans. So I hope that common sense prevails and this is not the first time something like this has happened and it definitely won’t be the last time so this type of situation I hope we can find a solution.”
Pirelli has been F1’s sole tire supplier since 2011 and last year signed a new contract until the end of 2027 with an option for a one-year extension.
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