Pirelli chief announces tyre changes

Pirelli are to bring in changes to their tyres from the Canadian Grand Prix for the sake of the fans.

The Italian manufacturer has res-ponded quickly to the criticism that followed Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix during which there were 77 pit stops, at an average of almost four per driver.

Motorsport director Paul Hembery conceded after the race the rubber used at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya was “too aggressive”.

It was suggested changes would be made for the British Grand Prix at the end of June, but following meetings within the company Hembery said: “The sooner we could do it the better for everyone involved.”

Hembery added: “Four stops was not what we wanted, and to make a change we needed to do it as soon as possible so teams have time to react for the rest of the season. The tyre from Canada onwards will combine elements of the structure from last year, with some elements of this year’s tyre.

“The fine details are being sorted and will be finalised in the next couple of days.

“But we wanted to make sure people understood we had noted their comments, so we’ve reacted and we’ll make sure we get back to where we were last season, which is two to three stops per race.”

Even F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone waded into the debate by stating “the tyres are wrong, not what we intended when we asked Pirelli to produce something which did a half race”.

Asked whether the pressure from Ecclestone forced them into a change, Hembery added: “He was only sharing the comments of the majority, that we had gone a step too far and we needed to come back a bit.

“So I wouldn’t say it was pressure from him, it was really from the fans from a sporting point of view. From what we saw on Sunday, we felt no, this was going in the wrong direction.”

A potential concern now will be Red Bull, one of the most outspoken critics of this year’s tyres, will become the main beneficiary, as stated by Hembery on Sunday.

Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz commented this week F1 had become “a competition in tyre management”.

Naturally, Hembery is hoping Red Bull do not go on to dominate, but can offer no guarantees as he said: “We would hope that’s not the case, but we always face that risk.”