17/06/2019
NEWS STORY
As seems to be the case with contemporary F1, teams believe that the round black things at each corner of the car are the cause of their various issues.
Since the start of the season most teams have been complaining of their inability to find a decent working window for the latest-spec tyres which feature a thinner tread than their predecessors in a bid to reduce overheating, eliminate blistering and level the performance gap between each compound.
In Canada, the complaints reached a crescendo, with Ferrari and Red Bull joining in the chorus of disapproval and calling for a return to the 2018-spec tyres. Indeed, the only team which has not voiced concern at the 2019-spec tyres is Mercedes, which has won all seven races thus far.
Despite the criticism of the 2019-pec tyres however, and calls for Pirelli to revert to the 2018-spec, Mario Isola has revealed that his company has not received one official request to do so.
"It is very clear how you can modify the construction or the compounds during the season," he told Motorsport.com, referring to the fact that change can only happen if the FIA requests it or (at least) seven of the teams are in favour of such a move.
"I didn't receive any request so far," he admits. "If I receive a request that is reasoned, we will consider that request. We will consider what we have to do to modify the tyres, and we will discuss that with the FIA.
"We can modify the construction or the compound, the specification of the tyre, only for safety," he adds. "At the moment there is no safety concern. Even if I sent a request to the FIA, to be honest I don't know what to write in that request because I cannot reason any change for safety. I cannot. There is no safety concern."
All ten teams got to try the 2019-spec tyres at the post Abu Dhabi test, and over the course of that test and this year's pre-season tests no concerns were raised.
However, Isola argues that since the working window relates to a number of factors, not least the mechanical and aerodynamic performance of the car, perhaps the teams should be looking closer to home.
"How to design the car, how to generate the downforce, to design the suspension, is their job," he says. "We still have to work on the working range, but we did most of the job and now it's up to them to generate the energy."