Team meetings on Friday in Austria to discuss tires

They are round, black, and connect the single-seaters of Formula 1 on the ground. And obviously, they represent quite a headache for most teams. Tires are at the heart of conversations and singled out when it comes to naming a culprit for the undivided domination of Mercedes.

Compared to their 2018 predecessors, Current rubbers include a 0,4mm thinner tread. This type of construction had already been used last year on three Grands Prix: Spain, France, and Great Britain. Mercedes, which was also experiencing overheating problems, then took three poles and won two victories.

This season, the German team is undefeated after eight meetings and many of its rivals believe it benefits significantly from new Pirelli products. Hence their desire to return to last year's specification.

After a French Grand Prix lacking in rebounds, Nikolas Tombazis, head of the single-seater series and technical mastermind at the FIA, decided to call a meeting to discuss the subject with the 10 teams on the grid and their tire supplier. The meeting will take place Friday morning before free practice for the Austrian GP.

In Montreal at the beginning of the month, Mario Isola reminded us of the following point of regulation: “ If 70% of the teams, or the FIA, make a request, we can change the product during the season., explained the Pirelli motorsport manager. Given the words of Toto wolff on the question – the Austrian had taxed his opponents “opportunistic activists” – we already know the negative response from Mercedes, which maintains close links with Williams and also supplies Racing Point with engines.  

On the other hand, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, members of senior management Red Bull, expressed themselves in favor of a return to the old version of the tires. They are not the only ones: Ferrari, Haas, and Toro Rosso would also welcome this change during the season. Engine customer of the Scuderia, the team Alfa Romeo will she follow the voting instructions of Maranello ?

Remains the case of the stables Renault et McLaren. At Castellet last week, an engineer from the French manufacturer told us that it was not the habit of Losange to want to change the rules of the game in the middle of the game. “We do the best with what we havehe explained. We may have a car that is a little slower in corners than some of our competitors, does that mean we are going to see the FIA ​​to ask them to change the layout of the upcoming tracks? »

Others obviously have fewer scruples.