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Hamilton urges Pirelli for better tyres to appeal to fans

Published on 19 Aug 2020 16:21
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By: Coilin Higgins

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton has asked Pirelli to try and improve the tyres used by teams in F1 in order to allow better racing and appeal to fans.

Hamilton, who won Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix, said about how the teams were forced to use the 2019-spec tyre after Pirelli's proposed 2020 tyre was rejected by teams.

He noted how the drivers do not be represented at meetings on how to improve tyres for the future gave him a reason to attend last year's meeting and explain his situation from a driver's representative.

Hamilton criticised the need for tyre management throughout the race on the current rubber, something which is impacting negatively on those watching the race.

Going into the new regulations for 2022, the six-time world champion urged the Italian company to create a better tyre that will allow drivers to push and race each other during a race and create better excitement for the fans.

“We really need to put a lot of pressure on Pirelli for the future,” Hamilton explained to Autosport.

“They didn't, unfortunately, do a great job with a tyre at the end of last year, to develop the 2020 tyre. And so we had to carry over the same tyre from 2019 into this season.

“In the past when they made the target letter, the drivers were not a part of that discussion. And so that's why last year I went to the meeting in Paris, as part of representing the drivers. We want to help them make sure that they set the target letter correctly. It's not been done right for a long time.

“Moving forwards, they're probably not going to be able to do it for next year, but for 2022 we need a better tyre, we need a tyre that gives us more grip, better safety, and enables us to drive closer to cars and give you guys and the fans better racing.

“Right now, we're [doing] a serious amount of management. And I don't think that's what the fans want. That's not what a racing driver wants, to have to manage it behind a car, multiple seconds behind, because the tyres are not good enough.

“And so we want to help Pirelli to make a better tyre if they can. And that's obviously the question.”

f1ski

Posts: 726

The real issue for Lewis is give me a tire i can push the no one can catch me. bring tires that force teams to pit multiple times. They used 2019 rubber? the second silverstone race was amazing bring softer tires and bigger gaps between compounds

1
Aug 20 2020 - 12:09

F1 News Lewis Hamilton Pirelli Mercedes

Replies (4)

ajpennypacker

Posts: 2,475
Here we go again... I think the problem is in F1 as a whole deciding what they want the tyres to be. Pirelli could design soft tyres that can last an entire race, but F1 didn't want that. So Pirelli was pushed to deliver tyres that wear out more quickly.

This tyres are not super high tech. It doesn't take a serious amount of development to increase longevity. In a way, F1 tyres as sub-optimal compared to what they could do in terms of performance and longevity.
- + 0
- Aug 19 2020 - 23:12
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  F1 sure have a part in this, but you underestimate the amount of work they put into these tyres, and the amount of work you Have to put in it. But fact is, that even when taking all of that into consideration, Pirelli could've done better. Not what Hammy wants, but they could do better in terms of balancing their tyres.
  + 0
  
  Aug 21 2020 - 16:28
f1ski

Posts: 726
The real issue for Lewis is give me a tire i can push the no one can catch me. bring tires that force teams to pit multiple times. They used 2019 rubber? the second silverstone race was amazing bring softer tires and bigger gaps between compounds
- + 1
- Aug 20 2020 - 12:09
Snooky

Posts: 121
Tyre manufacturers get a hard time of it, people are either going to complain about them not lasting and drivers not being able to push, or design a tyre that’ll go to the end as fast as possible without stopping and then create a boring race because dominant cars will drive off into the sunset
- + 0
- Aug 20 2020 - 19:15