Formula 1’s sole tyre supplier Pirelli is taking steps to look into making the 2018 tyre compounds softer after complaints from the drivers about the current selection of rubber available.
At the Spanish Grand Prix, the orange-marked hard tyre was the centre of discussion during the drivers briefing on the Friday of the race weekend, numerous complaints were made after the drivers found no grip on the track’s surface.
Since then, Pirelli has removed the compound from the British Grand Prix selection, meaning we may only see it once more in Japan in October.
Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola has said those discussions from Spain have been on the positive side, also acknowledging the Italian supplier may have also been too conservative in their choices for the 2017 season due to the huge gain in performance from 2016.
Isola told Motorsport.com: “It was a very, very interesting conversation because I was meeting with the drivers to understand what they think about the new products, and what they think about the direction we are taking for the future.
“I have to say it was a very, very positive meeting. We also exchanged a lot of ideas, also beyond just the tyres. Plus, most of the drivers were involved, because sometimes there are silent drivers, but all the top drivers were talking with interesting ideas.”
Isola has also said that it is important that the company improves for 2018 in many areas, but will not commit to any plans until later on in the season, this is to ensure they have the maximum amount of data possible to make an informed decision moving forward.
Isola added: “In general everybody has the feeling that we are probably one step harder than we need to be, but don’t forget the rate of development of the cars will be huge, and we have to wait a little bit before taking decisions on the future.
“We have to freeze the construction by September 1 and freeze the compounds by December 1, so now we are working both on construction and compound.
“But the focus for now is more on the construction, because it is the first part of the product to freeze. Then after that we will start developing new compounds.
“But the final decision will be later in the year when we have some indication coming from other circuits like Spa, Suzuka and Sepang.”
