F1 tyre situation "fundamentally wrong" - Lauda

[Rob]

Tuesday 19 March at 06:35 : Mar.19 (GMM) Niki Lauda has slammed the tyre situation in formula one, accusing Pirelli and the FIA of confusing the fans.

"The situation with the tyres is absolutely stupid," the forthright triple world champion, broadcaster and Mercedes team chairman and shareholder said.

"Artificially creating more and more pitstops is wrong," Lauda told German newspaper Bild.

"Pirelli can't really help it as they are only doing what the FIA ordered them to do, but 90 per cent of the time no one understands what is happening in the races now."

Pole sitter Sebastian Vettel finished the 2013 season opener third on Sunday, while Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen did one fewer pitstop and surprisingly won for Lotus from seventh on the grid.

Lauda said the current situation, with the tyres more influential than ever before, is confusing for the fans.

"My advantage is that I can ask our (Mercedes) engineers. The fans cannot. But even our people are confused.

"When the tyres are so soft, it's bad for formula one. The fans don't understand if there are more than two pitstops. (For F1) it's a fundamentally wrong path."

Pirelli's Paul Hembery hit back: "Many fans have told us they think the racing is more exciting now."

http://www.onestopstrategy.com/dailyf1news/nieuw/article/19473-F1+tyre+situation+%27fundamentally+wrong%27+-+Lauda.html

[Jose-Lorca Fan]

Lauda wouldn't be saying his if their car wasn't so hungry on the tyres. Who was it during testing saying they had excellent tyre management? :roll

[Hamish]

If the Merc didn't wear out the tyres, Lauda would be happy with them. Don't know how he can say it is bad for F1, I personally think it is rather exciting and makes for an unpredictable race.

[impactX]

If in-season testing is allowed, then it's not as ridiculous.

[FFFerrari]

Lauda is old and confused. And yes, I prefer this to the situation where you could go on with one pitstop (the mandatory one).

[Massimo]

Lauda has a point ofcourse, we've gotten to the point where tyre management has replaced the actual racing itself.
Let's have a look at Kimi, he was in fourth place after the first lap, but i don't remember him being within a second of the car in front of him, ever, in fact Kimi saved his tyres because he never had to fight with anyone on track, never during the whole race did he had to try and overtake another car, Kimi's strategy was based solely on avoiding the dirty air from any car in front of him.
Where Alonso, Massa, Vettel and Hamilton were within a second of each other several times and at least looked like they would try to overtake the car in front of them, and had to pay a price strategically wise, Kimi stayed far away from the other cars on track and fooled everybody with his hide and seek strategy.
When Sutil went to supersofts with an almost empty car, you would expect him to gain some places and see some overtakes, but none of that, the supersoft seems to be a qualifying tyre, with just 2 laps of maximum performance, after that they're even worse than 15 laps old mediums!
Sorry, but that's not racing.

[Infi24r]

I like the tyres. I think if it wasn't for the tyres the Red Bulls would be off into the distance.

[Hornet]

It's funny people used to say tire war was bad because the tire played too big of a role in determining who wins. Now, we have the same situation, and people are happy with it. :-G

[SanderV]

They are trying to create artificial entertainment to attract outsiders. Some people - especially outsiders or non-followers - want to see unpredictability in F1. They tell me a race is boring if a team has a dominant car or something. I can understand some people when they say races are often boring, but to me, a 'boring' race is often very fascinating. For me, F1 is not about unpredictability, but about the team that does the best job, regardless of whether it is Red Bull, Ferrari or any other team. Of course I prefer Ferrari, but I'm talking about F1 in general.

It's similar to rule changes. They implement rule changes 'to spice up the racing'. To me - a F1 fanatic - this is unnecessary and 'spoils' the sport. But they are trying to attract a bigger audience. I can understand that, but to me it's a shame because I like pure racing and team effort in F1.

The tyre situation may play into the hands of some teams and hurt others. The teams - including Ferrari - have to deal with these circumstances. I guess commercial interests are more important today than sporting values. I'm fine with one tyre supplier, but I prefer a stable tyre, so the teams can make the difference through car development, drivers or strategies. To me, F1 doesn't need to be 'spiced up' through tyres, but what can you do? All in all, I kind of agree with Lauda, but as a team you have to deal with it.

[Rob]

It's funny people used to say tire war was bad because the tire played too big of a role in determining who wins. Now, we have the same situation, and people are happy with it. :-G

Back in the "tyre war" years, both tyres worked differently. Bridgestones worked straight out of the warmers, as Michilins came into song after few laps. That gave unpredictable "sometimes" of car performance, but at least we saw drivers pushing lap after lap till pitstops. What we have know is tyre conservation. Isnt bad, as shows which car/drivers can look after the rubber better, but that to me is bit boring. As i like watching the top drivers pushing lap after lap, and sometimes pushing the limits.

[Hornet]

Back in the "tyre war" years, both tyres worked differently. Bridgestones worked straight out of the warmers, as Michilins came into song after few laps. That gave unpredictable "sometimes" of car performance, but at least we saw drivers pushing lap after lap till pitstops. What we have know is tyre conservation. Isnt bad, as shows which car/drivers can look after the rubber better, but that to me is bit botring. As i like watching the top drivers pushing lap after lap, and sometimes pushing the limits.
Yep. That's exactly what I dislike about the current tire condition, it doesn't allow the drivers to push and be aggressive when they are fighting on track. Heck we might have saw Massa and Alonso passing Vettel on track had they been able to trash the tires around driving aggressively.

[Kingdom Hearts]

but 90 per cent of the time no one understands what is happening in the races now

Not sure what the hell it's talking about, it's not that difficult to understand.

[NickEice]

I enjoy the racing. Maybe I am a simpleton, but hearing F1 engines and watching our beautiful red cars on track is enough to keep me happy!

[sagi58]

...Let's have a look at Kimi, he was in fourth place after the first lap, but i don't remember him being within a second of the car in front of him, ever, in fact Kimi saved his tyres because he never had to fight with anyone on track, never during the whole race did he had to try and overtake another car, Kimi's strategy was based solely on avoiding the dirty air from any car in front of him...

Sorry, but that's not racing.
:goodpoint Which is probably why Kimi himself said:

'It was one of the easiest races' - Raikkonen

http://en.espnf1.com/australia/motorsport/story/103296.html

[Greig]

Kimi overtook Lewis

[sagi58]

If in-season testing is allowed, then it's not as ridiculous.
Absolutely!! If teams had more time to understand the impact tires have on their performance and were able to make adjustments accordingly, you'd be giving "complete" control over the car's performance back to the teams!! Well, that AND being able to choose whatever tire best suits their car instead of being force-fed at each race!!

[sagi58]

Kimi overtook Lewis

I think everyone overtook him! :angel

[Sianellen]

Kimi overtook Lewis

He overtook Sutil too

[mark p]

Tyres are the same as air. designs are made to use air the best so you can design cars to use tyres better than others. its just an element of design next year engines as well so a balance of all 3. F1 races a few years back was just arro and no overtakes where you started you normally finished. Development of the car for tyres is just as big as designing parts for air to flow over but makes better races.

[Massimo]

He overtook Sutil too

Kimi overtook Lewis

Kimi simply drives around Lewis, and the overtake on Sutil is the same as on any given backmarker.
I'm sure both of you understand how i meant my comment.

[Silent Bob]

Back in the "tyre war" years, both tyres worked differently. Bridgestones worked straight out of the warmers, as Michilins came into song after few laps. That gave unpredictable "sometimes" of car performance, but at least we saw drivers pushing lap after lap till pitstops. What we have know is tyre conservation. Isnt bad, as shows which car/drivers can look after the rubber better, but that to me is bit botring. As i like watching the top drivers pushing lap after lap, and sometimes pushing the limits.

Absolutely agree. Also with these new tires, there isn't any benefit to staying out for a few extra laps because you can't put in any fast laps. The guy that pits for new tires first has too much extra speed and performance for those first 2 laps out of the pits. Remember the days when the first guy pitted and the guy in second would try to put in some fast laps to leap frog the leader... doesn't happen anymore as we saw with Massa, the drop off from the tires is too large.

[Dino]

Kimi simply drives around Lewis, and the overtake on Sutil is the same as on any given backmarker.
I'm sure both of you understand how i meant my comment.

I tend to agree with Massimo.
Kimi only had to deal with Lewis and Sutil and did not spend a lot of time runnung in their dirty air.
During the first part of the race i had the impression that Kimi was holding a little back and not get involved in the Vettel Massa Alonso train.[Around 3 seconds back]
The Lotus Team and Kimi knew exactly what they where doing.
Just let the leaders fight it out [and ruining their tyres] while we watch from a distance,save our rubber and go for one pit stop less.
Quite crafty and it worked!!

[Nova]

I agree with Lauda...these tires dont allow the full potential of the cars....its not exciting watching cars pit, or watching my team have to relinquish the
lead after 5 laps simply because the tires make the car undriveable. I want to see my drivers race at full capacity, fight with other cars, race against them, not count how many
laps they can do b4 the tires go to lalaland.
I thought it was a slap in the face to fans to watch cars have to pit after 4 or 5 laps...wheres the racing gone????

[Tobes]

Lauda isn't wholly wrong, but it's not the F1 of the 70's or 80's, the cars rely so much on aero and very little on mechanical grip, I agree with Massimo, but I also didn't enjoy the processional races that became the norm a few years back as much as recent seasons, the tyre situation has made races less predictable, and ultimately the best drivers will still prevail, as was demonstrated at the weekend, but I agree tyre preservation isn't racing, there must be a happy medium, we just haven't quite found it yet...

[REDARMYSOJA]

Lauda isn't wholly wrong, but it's not the F1 of the 70's or 80's, the cars rely so much on aero

I'm hoping Vettel's drop in pace was due to the Red Bull's vaunted aero grip superiority, which means their car is going to be a tire eater this season.

[sagi58]

I'm hoping Vettel's drop in pace was due to the Red Bull's vaunted aero grip superiority, which means their car is going to be a tire eater this season.
Well, Vettel did name his car " http://www.anchoredbygrace.com/smileys/icon_hungry.gif Heidi"!!

http://www.nextgen-auto.com/Vettel-calls-2013-car-Hungry-Heidi,57752.html

[eddie]

When teams are saving an extra set of tyres rather than participating in Q3, its fundamentally wrong.

This is F1 and not a F1 tyre saving competition....

I am with Lauda on this, the old man knows, in racing artificial excitement isnt a thing for F1.

What next, artificial rain... lol!

Excitement seekers should go to a theme park or a movie instead :lol

[sagi58]

...What next, artificial rain... lol!

In March 2011, it was on the table:


Ecclestone wants artificial rain in F1

... it is widely acknowledged that for true unpredictability and excitement, a heavy rain shower cannot be beaten.

"Look at the races we have now," Ecclestone told Formula One's official website. "Overtaking is almost impossible because in the dry there is only one line good for maximum speed because of the rubber on the track.

"You have a completely different picture when it is wet. We always had the most exciting races in the wet - so let’s think of making rain.

"There are racetracks that you can make artificially wet and it would be easy to have such systems at a number of tracks. Why not let it ‘rain’ in the middle of a race for 20 minutes, or the last 10 laps? Maybe with a two-minute warning ahead of it.

"Suspense would be guaranteed and it would be the same for all."

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/01032011/58/ecclestone-wants-artificial-rain-f1.html

[eddie]

In March 2011, it was on the table:

That old man is sure too crazy, may as well go for fire ring loop jumps... lol!

[Aberracus]

Tyres are the same as air. designs are made to use air the best so you can design cars to use tyres better than others. its just an element of design next year engines as well so a balance of all 3. F1 races a few years back was just arro and no overtakes where you started you normally finished. Development of the car for tyres is just as big as designing parts for air to flow over but makes better races.

I Totally agree, tyres are the same for everyone, so its another variable in the game. Too much grip and you are destroying your tyres, yo have to balance everything. Don't see the tyres as neutral components they are part of the hazards.

[wisepie]

Lauda isn't wholly wrong, but it's not the F1 of the 70's or 80's, the cars rely so much on aero and very little on mechanical grip, I agree with Massimo, but I also didn't enjoy the processional races that became the norm a few years back as much as recent seasons, the tyre situation has made races less predictable, and ultimately the best drivers will still prevail, as was demonstrated at the weekend, but I agree tyre preservation isn't racing, there must be a happy medium, we just haven't quite found it yet...

Agree with you Tobes and Massimo, tyres shouldn't completely dictate how much a driver can push, it means the WDC becomes the tyre-management championship, and that's not racing. Unpredictability is one thing and keeps it interesting, processional racing is boring, so we need something in between to give drivers the chance to show their driving skills.;-)

[sagi58]

It would seem we're back to the square one: Should drivers/teams not have the choice of which tire to use at any race?
And, shouldn't drivers/teams have some in-season testing to make adjustments/changes based on the different tires?

[Greig]

It would seem we're back to the square one: Should drivers/teams not have the choice of which tire to use at any race?


No that would defeat the whole purpose of the control tyre.



And, shouldn't drivers/teams have some in-season testing to make adjustments/changes based on the different tires?

The teams all agreed that in season testing would be dropped this year as it cost too much money for no real gain.

[sagi58]

No that would defeat the whole purpose of the control tyre. I understand the need to "save money"; but, how hard would it be for the teams to put in their "order" ahead of each race and Pirelli brings those tires with them?
What I don't understand is why Pirelli should dictate to any driver/team which tire is best suited to which track, as each car is set up differently.


The teams all agreed that in season testing would be dropped this year as it cost too much money for no real gain. I did say "some" because I was referring to the drivers/teams getting to know just what kind of adjustments need to be made for each compound! It might be a matter of a couple of sessions before the season begins, it might be a 1/2 hour before the beginning of practices.

Just a thought...

[Greig]

I understand the need to "save money"; but, how hard would it be for the teams to put in their "order" ahead of each race and Pirelli brings those tires with them?
What I don't understand is why Pirelli should dictate to any driver/team which tire is best suited to which track, as each car is set up differently.

I did say "some" because I was referring to the drivers/teams getting to know just what kind of adjustments need to be made for each compound! It might be a matter of a couple of sessions before the season begins, it might be a 1/2 hour before the beginning of practices.

Just a thought...

Because it would defeat the purpose of the control tyre with every team using the same, and could see a return to 1 team dominating as they can use certain tyres better. Pirelli pick the tyres based on their data and pick a suitable tyre for the track surface etc. And what if you put your tyre order in get to the track and the temps are lower or higher than expected? How do you know teams would pick different tyres to what Pirelli are now for each track?

We had 3 pre-season tests and the teams also got to trial the new tyres during last season at certain races, they agreed the costs involved in mid-season testing were not worth it. I don't know what sort of adjustments teams need to do for each tyre if any at all other than the race setup at each and every track, why do you think they need extra testing to make adjustments?

[NickEice]

I understand the need to "save money"; but, how hard would it be for the teams to put in their "order" ahead of each race and Pirelli brings those tires with them?
What I don't understand is why Pirelli should dictate to any driver/team which tire is best suited to which track, as each car is set up differently.

I did say "some" because I was referring to the drivers/teams getting to know just what kind of adjustments need to be made for each compound! It might be a matter of a couple of sessions before the season begins, it might be a 1/2 hour before the beginning of practices.

Just a thought...

Why don't we get to run any front wing we want? Why can't we design a car with a nose at any height? It's the rules. The rules are set for everyone to follow. The tire issue is overblown. This same thing happened last year then what happened after the first few races? We had 1 stop races the rest of the year. Give the teams time, they will learn how to cope. Just like teams needed time to learn to cope with the loss of the exhaust blown diffuser. But no one cried about that. Well besides Red Bull.

[sagi58]

... Give the teams time, they will learn how to cope... Wise words!! Will try to remember them, more often!!

[sagi58]

... And what if you put your tyre order in get to the track and the temps are lower or higher than expected? How do you know teams would pick different tyres to what Pirelli are now for each track?
You're probably right! I just don't like the lack of choice!
Ah, well... these guys know what they're doing!
I'm just going to enjoy the races and leave the rules to them to argue!!

[Kiwi Nick]

It would seem we're back to the square one: Should drivers/teams not have the choice of which tire to use at any race?
And, shouldn't drivers/teams have some in-season testing to make adjustments/changes based on the different tires?

I agree that it should be up to the teams to decide which tires they use. However, I'm not sure that would have changed the outcome of the race in Oz. If all 4 compounds were available, the race still would have been won by the driver who was able to go fast enough to finish first with one less stop. But, with the teams making the choice of tires, there would be no room for excuses. Left to their own devices, Ferrari might have gone for mediums and two stops, but Lotus were managing the tires so well that they probably could have gone mediums and one stop.

I say, let the teams pick the tires. That actually adds more, not less, drama because the teams will have one more decision to make.

[sagi58]

And, here's one pro weighing in on the discussion:


Tech Talk: Tyre trends to decide the season

...In the end it was simple. Two stops beat three in Melbourne on Sunday and only one team at the front had a car and driver combination that could make it work.It was all about tyre management in the race rather than out-and-out pace in qualifying – as the results clearly showed: Raikkonen started seventh and finished first; Alonso started fifth and finished second; Vettel started first and finished third.

And while it is dangerous to read too much into the first Grand Prix of the season, there are already some clear tyre factors that will play an important part this season...

http://admiredinafrica.co.za/wp-content/themes/default/images/btn_More.png http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/will-gray/tech-talk-tyres-trends-decide-season-164250890.html (http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/will-gray/tech-talk-tyres-trends-decide-season-164250890.html)

[Greig]

Alonso said we could have done a 2 stop did he not? but they went with 3 and a more attacking approach. On another day it might well have worked.

And tyres have long long long been a very important factor in F1 racing. Damon Hill blitzing all in an Arrows at Hungary 97 due to Bridgestone tyres for instance.....

[mhmalik]

It's funny people used to say tire war was bad because the tire played too big of a role in determining who wins. Now, we have the same situation, and people are happy with it. :-G

Exactly, at least in the battle between bridgestone and michelin, they were trying to make tyres that made cars go faster not like today's

[NickEice]

I've said it before, you either have one tire and bring back refueling or you don't refuel and mandate stops for tires. Can't have the best of both worlds.

The tires will always be extremely important and force the engineers to design around them. They are the only part of the car that touches the circuit for Pete's sake!

The only thing that can be said is maybe Pirelli went too soft on the compound, maybe they should have went Yellow and White, not Red and White. But in the end, it is the same for everyone. Lotus ran 23 laps on those tires, twice. They did a great job balancing the car and making it use the tires well. All the teams knew it was going to be an issue and it seems Lotus did the best job in Oz. Applaud them. They won fair and square.

[scuderiafan]

Ideally, imo Pirelli could try and research a tyre that would degrade at the same rate no matter what the teams do to it. As in, 'conserving the tyres' would be impossible.
I know this probably isn't possible, but maybe also make the tyres degrade a little less.
So we can have our mixed up strategies and good racing, while the teams have to push as the tyres would degrade anyways, as driving to a delta would be futile.

[Kiwi Nick]

The good news is that the dreaded super soft tire is not scheduled to reappear before the races return to Europe.

Australia Super Soft Medium
Malaysia Medium Hard
China Soft Medium
Bahrain Soft Hard

[Nova]

The good news is that the dreaded super soft tire is not scheduled to reappear before the races return to Europe.

Australia Super Soft Medium
Malaysia Medium Hard
China Soft Medium
Bahrain Soft Hard

Seeing this, I have to say..ok, this is what F1 is using now..but..why not make all compounds available at every race? Let the teams decide which compounds to use.
Just because a medium tire works for say, Mac at a certain track doesnt mean that same compound works for Lotus..Keep the rule, a car must use 2 compounds thruout the race..(stupid rule unto itself)..but...I think we would see yet more strategy in play.

[FFFerrari]

Seeing this, I have to say..ok, this is what F1 is using now..but..why not make all compounds available at every race? Let the teams decide which compounds to use.
Just because a medium tire works for say, Mac at a certain track doesnt mean that same compound works for Lotus..Keep the rule, a car must use 2 compounds thruout the race..(stupid rule unto itself)..but...I think we would see yet more strategy in play.

Because it would lead to a scenario where every team would use SS for quali, then start the race on it and change to the fastest but enough lasting compound for the rest of the race. I doubt we would see much variance in the strategies.

[sagi58]

Because it would lead to a scenario where every team would use SS for quali, then start the race on it and change to the fastest but enough lasting compound for the rest of the race. I doubt we would see much variance in the strategies.
The difference would be that the drivers/teams have the option!
They get to choose their strategy! They get to choose their tire!
They wouldn't be bound by someone else's choice!

[bluesilhouettes]

We used to comlain abour tires, now, someone is saying Lauda is too crazy. :clap

You are no good people. You're happy when you win, no matter how. :-s

[Greig]

We used to comlain abour tires, now, someone is saying Lauda is too crazy. :clap

You are no good people. You're happy when you win, no matter how. :-s

Do you even suppprt Ferrari?

[bluesilhouettes]

Do you even suppprt Ferrari?

Supporting Ferrari doesnt mean Ferrari is all good, others are cheating or etc.

[Greig]

Supporting Ferrari doesnt mean Ferrari is all good, others are cheating or etc.

That was not the question.

[Greig]

The difference would be that the drivers/teams have the option!
They get to choose their strategy! They get to choose their tire!
They wouldn't be bound by someone else's choice!

And as said they would all take SS to qual and then the same tyre that is best suited to the track they are on, you would not see much variety between tyre choices across the grid, there will be one tyre that the majority would pick.

[Silent Bob]

Pirelli just have to get rid of the performance drop off - right now new tires have a very quick 1-2 laps and then drop - they need to get rid of that. make the tire performance more level so pitting for new tires doesn't always result in the undercut working. A car on older tires with a clear track can't blitz in any fast laps to make up time, the guy on new tires has a 2 sec adavantage on his outlap, even on harder tires.

[NickEice]

Stop blaming Pirelli and blame the FIA. They told them to make them degrade faster this year. We could have kept last years tires but the FIA said no.

[raylinds]

Lauda isn't wholly wrong, but it's not the F1 of the 70's or 80's, the cars rely so much on aero and very little on mechanical grip, I agree with Massimo, but I also didn't enjoy the processional races that became the norm a few years back as much as recent seasons, the tyre situation has made races less predictable, and ultimately the best drivers will still prevail, as was demonstrated at the weekend, but I agree tyre preservation isn't racing, there must be a happy medium, we just haven't quite found it yet...
Good points. I would prefer to see rules that limited the use of aero, than using tires to induce interesting races.

[Alonsomaniac]

As always, it's those who can't get the tyres to work for them who complain. I hear Bieber and Webber complaining all the time, but I don't hear Kimi.....or Fernando or Felipe.

[redkid]

I like those days where there are two tire suppliers...bring it back!:-P

[sagi58]

Looks like the grumbling is contagious!




Mark Webber says Formula 1 ruled by tyres now

Mark Webber declared Formula 1 to be ruled by tires after Friday practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.

Tire wear and performance was crucial in last week's season opener in Australia, where Red Bull had the fastest car on outright pace but was defeated by Lotus and Ferrari when it struggled with the Pirellis in the race.

Webber was fastest in the first session in Malaysia but said tires were now such a dominant factor in performance that little else mattered.

"The whole category is geared around tires at the moment," he said. "Everything is around tires. tires, tires, tire, tires, tires..."

After dry morning practice, the afternoon session featured a brief but heavy rain shower. Webber described the damp track are "the only conditions [the slicks] work in, to be honest..."

The Australian's teammate Sebastian Vettel said that tire wear in Malaysia was another step worse than it had been in Australia. Asked how he felt about potential race pace, Vettel replied: "It looked pretty OK but quite a mess if you look at how long the tires last.

"It doesn't look very nice, I would say. I hope we have enough tires to survive the race. Today tire wear was pretty severe for everyone, so obviously you go around way under the [potential of the] car.

"It is not a lot of fun and that is how it is."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/106233

[Grillo]

I partially agree with Lauda but for me it isn't as big as it's meant to be. Tires are never perfect, they either last too much so strategy suffer, even more if refuel is banned, or they last very little and it's a headache for engineers and drivers. Last year we had the same complaints about the tires and after mid season Pirelli decided not to get involved as "a title decider" and changed their policy about bringing the softer tires possible to every GP. Nobody noticed that? Lauda, you didn't complain?

I have a complaint for F1 management. I used to love rain whenever it turned up in a Grand Prix, now I'm worried even with a few little drops of water because qualifying can be put off, the race can start behind the safety car, red flagged and then affected by the 2 hours time limit or ambience light about and finally an event being cancelled. It's getting worse every season in the last 3 or 4 years. STOP!!!

[Grillo]

If Hamilton did nothing "fundamentally wrong" like a huge flat spot to make a chunk of rubber fall off the tire I'll start to think the Pirelli tires are embarrasing.

[NanoTheQuickest]

They are indeed. I really miss fast and durable tyres and the days where the guys were not doing endurance but actual F1 racing on Sunday afternoon.

[996 GT1 Lover]

They are indeed. I really miss fast and durable tyres and the days where the guys were not doing endurance but actual F1 racing on Sunday afternoon.

I agree. Why can't Pirelli make a single tire, that's a harder compound, and have the teams use that one spec tire every single race, and, if the teams destroy their tires, it's their own fault? I agree that the racing is more exciting, like with the addition of DRS, but, also like the addition of DRS, it feels artificial.

[scudieros]

I agree that it is artificial but isn't it better to have a control which is the same for everyone? Wasn't it boring when redbull could qualify at the front and just lead the whole race and win? Our boys have worked hard during the winter to speed up pitstops [average of 6 pitstops in Australia was 2,85 seconds!] And understand tyre management and making a car that is good on them. Lotus seem to have made a better car but isn't that what f1 is about? Personally I am happy with the current situation. Lauda is just doing his job, he was hired to be a guard dog for Mercedes, same as Helmut Marko at red fools.

[DIEK]

http://oi45.tinypic.com/34gu5ww.jpg

[Nova]

Rant: I am so tired of hearing "He was able to pass 3 or 4 cars because he had newer tires on"..
Whatever happened to: He was able to gain places because: He's a better driver...that team has slightly better aero package...
That car has a bit more mechanical grip....he's simply faster than the other guy...etc etc....

Mabey a few races last year had an edge to them because of tires, but to me it was all artificial racing at best. Now the tires are more of a burden, or hinderance
to full out n out racing and the racing strategies...I know, Pirelli are simply doing what the FIA want them to do, but geez, thats all I hear about anymore...

The heck with all this mandate stuff Pirelli, just make a good race tire that lasts more than 5 laps and doesnt favor any chassis. Its racing, lets get on w/it.

As stated above, this is a rant..its not open to any discussion, but its better here than me stiking my head out the window and shouting.
My neighbors think Im crazy enough already...:-D