Tires: The FIA Reminds Pirelli of the Regulations

The debates keep intensifying around Pirelli tires, with everyone offering their commentary, whether in favor or against the stance taken by the Italian manufacturer — at the request of sports authorities. In this uproar, Paul Hembery, the head of Pirelli’s sports division, had paved the way for a revision of the tire design following a Spanish Grand Prix that highlighted strategies — extremely rare until now in F1 — involving four pit stops (to the point that the most famous among them was included in a retrospective offered by the editorial team of *MotorsInside* during the summer, on the remarkable events of the 2000s).

A first for Pirelli, which had stated earlier in the season that it did not want to make significant changes, while returning to a less soft composition for its hard tires. « Our goal is to provide the teams with a new range that combines the stability of the 2012 tires with the performance of the current tires. As a company, we have always acted quickly to make improvements that we deem necessary. After evaluating the data from the first few races this year, we decided to introduce new developments because it became clear during the Spanish Grand Prix that the number of stops was too high. The Spanish Grand Prix was won with four stops, which had only happened once before in our history. These changes also mean that the tires will not be put under as much strain, which will reduce the number of stops, » stated P. Hembery.

But yesterday, it was the FIA that reminded everyone of the technical regulations of the premier discipline, notably its article 12.6.3, which states: « Tire specifications are determined by the FIA no later than September 1 of the previous season. Once determined, the tire specification cannot be changed during the championship season without the agreement of all teams. »

A provision that therefore seems to prohibit any changes in the design of the tires at the moment, since if Red Bull and Mercedes have shown their support, other teams have clearly expressed their opposition to such a measure, including Ferrari, Force India, and Lotus. The latter even had some fun with Pirelli’s announcement by posting a photo on Facebook and Twitter, accompanied by an ironic phrase directed at Milton Keynes, where Red Bull’s headquarters are located: “Hard enough for you guys..?”

Special delivery in Milton Keynes; it seems @Pirelli_media have been ‘hard’ at work… #LongerLastingRubber #F1 twitter.com/Lotus_F1Team/s…

— Lotus F1 Team (@Lotus_F1Team) 17 mai /f1/actualite/15528-de-nouveaux-pneumatiques-Pirelli-a-partir-du-canada.html

In reality, the only scenario in which changes could be decided unilaterally, without the unanimous agreement of the teams, concerns the safety requirement. A source from the FIA, quoted by our British colleagues from *Autosport*, confirms that this aspect is at the heart of the discussions, and nothing else: « Discussions between the FIA and Pirelli are ongoing regarding the incidents and the changes [to be made] to prevent them from happening again. These debates do not address the subject of degradation or the number of stops. » Among the various problems encountered by Pirelli, the most serious concerned sudden punctures and different “de-laminations” experienced, notably by Felipe Massa in Bahrain or by Paul di Resta and Jean-Eric Vergne in Spain.

When asked about possible upcoming changes, Paul Hembery told *Autosport*: « Let’s wait and see exactly what changes will be made, but we are doing everything to minimize what will be different. » A position that seems to align with the regulations, even though discussions are still ongoing.