No.or is it usual to observe how they change the rules of the game in the middle of the season. Pirelli decided to introduce a new tire specification at the British GP. From the Italian brand, they warned: “The tires will be more resistant without affecting any of the other technical parameters or their behavior on the track”. But the truth is that since Silverstone the entire championship has turned upside down.
A change that does not correspond to trying to alter the order of the grid or anything like that. The problem lies in having advanced the introduction to mid-2023, when a slight change in the single-seaters may or may not alter their operation. Teams like Red Bull and Aston Martin, specialists in the care of compounds, seem to suffer.Mercedes, Alfa Romeo and McLaren could have found a gold mine out of nowhere.
Fernando Alonso, the most superstitious on the F1 grid
“There are a couple of teams that are having a hard time and another couple of teams that are now very happy,” said the Spaniard in Hungary. Precisely these teams are the ones that have quickly come out to downplay this unexpected twist in the script. McLaren, Alpine, Mercedes… None acknowledge having found more competitiveness in these compounds.
Red Bull washes its hands
Paul Monaghan, Red Bull’s chief engineer, does not want to give any clues as to how the change has affected the Mylton Keynes. “I don’t know how it’s affected because we can’t put the old tire back on other people’s cars, so I can’t answer your question with an objective measurement.”explains in the preview of the Belgian GP.
We have made some subtle changes. Are they dramatic? I would consider them relatively small
What they have not hidden are the small modifications they have had to make to fit these new tires. “Yes, we have made some subtle changes. Are they dramatic? I would consider them relatively small, but that It doesn’t mean that our other opposition hasn’t made bigger changes.”Monaghan confirmed, speaking of set-up changes to suit.
Fernando Alonso, chased by Checo Prez with Red Bull.
Alfa Romeo does not deny the influence of tires
One of the beneficiaries of these sudden changes on the grid. In the race they were diluted, but Zhou and Bottas started 5 and 7 on the grid. Xexi Pujolar, Alfa Romeo engineer, had no impediment in affirming with Albert Fbrega in DAZN that “The temperature, the evolutions, small differences between tracks and the new tires make up a mix that makes everything more interesting.”
“The temperature, the evolutions, small differences between tracks and the new tires make up a mix that makes everything more interesting”
McLaren believes in “temporary” coincidences
Andrea Stella claimed not to have “no technical element to confirm” the hypothesis raised by Alonso. For the former engineer of the Asturian, the changes in the classification may be due to “a kind of temporal correlation.” Although, he has also explained that “I don’t know the evaluation from the performance point of view of Aston Martin”.
Lando Norris pointed out that “the car will be horrible in a slow corner”, but added his second consecutive podium on a track with these characteristics. Andrea Stella follows a continuous line with her pilot and believes that “from a technical point of view, there is no reason to think that the tires have had a significant impact on performance”.
Lando Norris, Scar Piastri and Max Verstappen, in the Silverstone qualifying.
Alpine throws a ‘dart’ at Aston Martin and Red Bull
Alan Permane, Alpine’s sports director, does not believe the theory put forward by Alonso. “I’ve read that Aston and Red Bull are maybe questioning their pace a bit because of the tyres, but it could be down to development.
I’ve read that Aston Martin and Red Bull are maybe questioning their pace a bit because of the tyres, but it could be down to development.
“We know that McLaren took a big step, but that coincided with the tiresAlthough we didn’t have the tires in Austria and they were fast there. So I suspect it could be a red herring” although the Brits have always done very well at the Red Bull Ring as they demonstrated in 2021, when they weren’t a dominant car either.
Alan Permane and Fernando Alonso, during their time at Alpine.
Pirelli provides keys to this issue
The Italian brand of compounds shuns any kind of relationship between the change in the forces of the classification with the new tires, although it does not deny important changes for the single-seaters. “Although it is more resistant, it does not mean that it is more rigid or heavier: 400 grams per set is nothing”affirms Isola in the preview of the Belgian GP.
The truth is that 1.6 kg can cause problems in weight distribution for many teams and could be an advantage for those cars that have met the minimum weight (798 kg) using ballast, which they can now do without. Fernando and Aston Martin are still looking for solutions to get back up to the second place they lost with the arrival of these ‘new’ protagonists.
