Sebastian Vettel won a 32nd career victory at the Italian Grand Prix in uncomplicated fashion, using only two sets of Pirelli’s tyres in the exclusive supplier’s home race. Fernando Alonso, with whom Vettel shares that career wins total, also used a one-stop strategy in his Ferrari to get second place, having started from fifth on the grid, meaning that he limited Vettel’s championship lead to 53 points – likely too much to make up already.
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel seems to be moving inexorably towards the 2013 Formula One Drivers’ Championship, taking his 31st career victory at the Belgian Grand Prix using a two-stop strategy. Vettel’s Red Bull set the fastest lap of the race on the hard tyre, claiming the lead from second on the grid and extending his championship advantage to 46 points over Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. His win means that he draws level with Nigel Mansell in terms of overall victories.
Former Formula One racer Jean Alesi has emphasised the importance of tyre management at the Belgian grand prix. Held at one of the quickest circuits of the season in Spa-Francorchamps, Pirelli’s brand ambassador said that the number of fast corners, combined with the length of the track and variable weather could mean that the tyres cool during the latter stages of the lap, making achieving even performance throughout the lap difficult. The exclusive tyre supplier is bringing the P Zero Orange hard and P Zero White medium tyres, the two hardest compounds in the range, to Spa – an allocation that Pirelli says is “perfectly suited” to the high-energy demands of the circuit. Inclement weather could bring the Cinturato Green intermediate and Cinturato Blue wet tyres into play too.
WRC competitors will be able to select tyres from an additional manufacturer in 2014 after Pirelli registered as an official supplier to the Championship. The FIA confirmed on 1 August that the Italian manufacturer will join existing suppliers Michelin, Dmack and Hankook, who continues to supply tyres to Junior WRC.
According to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, Michelin intends to make an announcement regarding its stance on F1 tyre supply later this week. The publication believes the French manufacturer will voice its readiness to bid for the contract. The question is, it adds, when it would be ready to begin? Would Michelin be ready in time for 2014? That is unlikely, Auto Motor und Sport opines. It’s much too late for a tender covering 2014 as teams must be informed about tyre sizes by 1 September.
Pirelli has announced that it will take its P Zero Orange (hard) and White (medium) compound Formula One tyres to Spa and Monza this year, while the final street race in Singapore will see the use of the P Zero Red supersoft compound along with the White. If there a whiff of conservatism about Pirelli’s tyre choices for the two fastest tracks of the year, you wouldn’t necessarily blame the tyre supplier. Following the harshness and high profile of the criticism it has received in 2013 – building to the crescendo after the British grand prix – the latest announcement is perhaps an indication of a change in thinking; perhaps it would be good not to talk about degrading Pirelli tyres for a while. On the other hand, Pirelli reasons that at these most demanding of tracks, the harder compounds are simply best-equipped to deal with the conditions, and Pirelli has tended to steer clear of by default providing tyres two compound steps apart, as had become conventional in the recent past. Of course, Singapore will provide an opportunity to see if this idea provides more strategic choices for teams and drivers. Motorsport director Paul Hembery reiterated his view that the tyres selected would provide the “best opportunities for strategy” and be “the most effective race tyres.”
Pirelli has released two statements to explain the reasons behind the spate of tyre failures at the British grand prix. The exclusive tyre supplier said that the “sophisticated” asymmetric construction of the current P Zero Formula One slicks meant that tyre management methods employed by teams, such as mounting rear tyres on the opposite side to that for which they were designed, reduced tyre pressures, and extreme cambers had combined with the high kerbs at Silverstone to cause the problems, which Pirelli Motorsport director Paul Hembery described as “completely unexpected”. While Hembery was adamant that the “2013 range of tyres, used in the correct way, is completely safe”, he accepted that Pirelli had “underestimated” the effects that these unconventional running techniques would have on the tyres, and had declined to forbid mounting tyres the wrong way around. In future, Pirelli is seeking, with the agreement of FIA, FOM, the teams and the drivers, greater control over the ways in which its F1 tyres are utilised.
Anyone predicting that Formula One’s tyre supplier Pirelli could settle in for a quieter end to the 2013 season had a rude awakening at the British grand prix. Three rear left tyre deflations in the first 15 laps decidedly different in character from the delaminations seen earlier in the season led to a lengthy safety car period. During these laps race marshals rushed to clear debris from all around the track, while FIA race director Charlie Whiting was reportedly on the verge of red-flagging the race on safety grounds. But the race continued to a highly compelling conclusion for a passionate crowd of over 110,000 after Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel rolled to a standstill on the home straight, an event that lifted the spirits of a partisan home crowd. They were denied a British victory, though home favourite Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton produced a season’s-best drive to claim fourth following his early tyre failure from first. Mark Webber also pushed the victorious Nico Rosberg close in the final stages, marking an apt last British grand prix for the popular, perennial nearly-man. The fans surrounding Tyres & Accessories near the home straight, who had been more than murmuring their discontent at Pirelli following the early tyre deflations, raised their voices to a crescendo as Hamilton and Webber improvised a tyre strategy to allow them to work their way through the grid.
Before this weekend’s Canadian grand prix, the major F1 tyre story had been the FIA’s decision to make Mercedes and Pirelli appear before an international tribunal based on the suspicion that Mercedes’ use of its 2013 car in a 1,000km tyre test "may constitute a breach" of the series’ rules. Mercedes principal, Ross Brawn has told BBC Sport’s chief F1 analyst Eddie Jordan that "it was a Pirelli test. What we were seeking was privacy not secrecy.”
Sebastian Vettel used two stops to saunter to his 29th career victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Canada. Vettel started on the P Zero Red supersoft tyre to sprint ahead of a similarly shod top 10 before switching to the P Zero White medium and completing the race with a final stint on this tyre. Despite wet qualifying conditions, Pirelli also completed some testing of its tweaked rear tyres in Friday practice, and Motorsport director Paul Hembery said the manufacturer would analyse the data gathered “over the next few days” before summarising the differences in performance.
Pirelli will test tyres during the practice session at the Canadian grand prix, the Formula One tyre supplier has announced. While the manufacturer had previously announced its intention to supply a new tyre range in Montreal, several teams, headed by Force India, held up the switch. Pirelli is now hoping to introduce the new P Zero F1 rubber at Silverstone for the British grand prix.
The continuing tyre debate in Formula One acquired a new facet over the long weekend, as details emerged of a 1,000km test Pirelli conducted in Barcelona after the Spanish grand prix. Red Bull and Ferrari have led official protests against the test, which is thought to have been conducted using the 2013 Mercedes car. This adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing debate over whether Pirelli will be allowed to change its 2013 specification rubber mid-season. Pirelli announced that it would make the changes to the rear tyres before the Canadian grand prix, but this intention is being held up by three teams – chiefly Force India, with Ferrari and Lotus joining the current impasse – who have refused to sign off on the replacement range. (You can follow the ongoing saga of Pirelli's 2013 F1 tyres in the links below this story.)
Nico Rosberg won his first race for Mercedes this year, ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, who extended his championship lead. The German was in front from start to finish, starting on the P Zero Red supersoft tyre and then switching to the P Zero Yellow soft during a safety car period. An accident on lap 45 brought out the red flag and under the current rules the drivers were allowed to change tyres during the stoppage. Rosberg completed the race on the supersoft tyre, following yet another safety car period with 15 laps to go. Pirelli had predicted a one-stop strategy, and this proved to be the case for most of the field, excluding the re-start. Monaco is generally one of the easiest races on the tyres, partially as a result of well rubberised roads and lower speeds than specialist track races.
Pirelli’s decision to make wholesale changes to its range of P Zero Formula One tyres, as well as the sole tyre supplier’s future in the series, are hanging in the balance going into this weekend’s Monaco grand prix. The tyre maker appeared ready to go ahead with a plan to supply altered tyres from June – thought to be a mix between the features of the current rubber and last year’s model – but behind-the-scenes negotiations have followed that announcement.
In the wake of Pirelli’s decision to provide a new range of tyres to Formula One after the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend, the series’ chief, Bernie Ecclestone has defended the manufacturer’s approach. While stopping short of praising the four early 2013 season P Zero compounds, Ecclestone noted the difficulties inherent in the task he gave Pirelli – to make tyres to last less than half a race. He explained that different driving styles, cars, circuits and operating temperatures make it difficult to provide a tyre that fits this specification.
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