The Proof Is In The Pirelli

13/06/2012

Formula One qualifying is supposed to unfold like a fairytale. As it progresses we find out who the good and bad guys are while experiencing drama and heartbreak which builds to an exhilarating crescendo.

It is a format that captures the excitement and thrill of motorsport and packages it perfectly for television. We see drivers on the ragged edge broadcast in to our homes like we never have before. It's a perfect blend of driving aggression and exciting television.

Or so we thought.

Where we want to see the punch and counter punch of the greatest teams and drivers in motor racing we're often forced to endure half a dozen giving their all while the rest sit and watch. In our perfect blend we're left frustrated and robbed of that final climax.

The teams have claimed the tactics they employ are just as interesting as cars on track. It is a line teams spin as a way of deflecting criticism away from themselves, in this instance dropping it on Pirelli's doorstep. It's not fair on Pirelli and it's sure as hell not fair on the fans. It's a load of self-serving garbage which, according to our recent survey, 87% of Pitpass readers can see through.

It must be remembered that it's the adoring world which tunes in that entices sponsors to fork out millions of dollars to keep the teams afloat. Without the fans Frank Williams' team would likely never have progressed beyond the phone booth.

In the first survey of its type the Pitpass Q3 Survey also revealed that, while fans want to see cars on track, they don't really care how or why. We posed two hypothetical solutions - qualifying tyres or replacement rubber - with opinion split almost equally between the two.

Given neither option was clearly favoured it would appear fans seem unfazed by the fast wearing Pirelli's but do have strong opinions about seeing getting cars out of the garage. The Italian firm has developed and delivered a tyre which has done a great service to Formula One. Having been one of the most vocal critics of the firm I have been forced to eat large slices of humble pie: Pirelli has done a good job and Formula One should be thankful for it.

"We've had to accept and appreciate the views of the teams, or some of the teams, that they feel the tactical element of qualifying and maybe the fans just want to see the five or six cars go for pole position as a point of view," a frustrated Paul Hembery told Pitpass. "It's not been one we've been able to subscribe to because people see us as partly responsible for people not running.

"We would like, as a company, to find a solution and it's results like this sort of survey that help the sport to understand what we need to be doing because at the end of the day it's the fans that decide."

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