MANAMA: Pirelli are coming under pressure to make longer-lasting Formula One tyres after Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix saw drivers lifting off the throttle rather than go flat-out to the flag.
Australian Mark Webber started from the Shanghai pit lane and pulled back in again after just one lap to get rid of his Red Bull’s quick-wearing soft tyres as soon as he possibly could.
After seven laps, there had been a confusing four different leaders.
McLaren’s Jenson Button, who had described his Saturday qualifying as being more of a “driving Miss Daisy” pootle, found himself asking his team during the race whether he should fight those ahead of him for fear of wearing out the tyres.
“It was excruciating, if you are involved with a car that’s got to drive at that pace...I would hope for the fans it was OK,” commented McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh.
Pirelli have introduced new compounds this season to encourage more overtaking and more pitstops to shake up the strategy.
That was seen as a good thing, to prevent drivers going for long stints on one set, but the new generation now lose performance so fast.The ‘team orders’ controversies that exploded at last month’s Malaysian Grand Prix were due mainly to teams ordering drivers to hold station because they feared the tyres would not last if raced hard. Reuters
