Pirelli revises its usage recommendations to teams

After the controversy surrounding the blistering of Pirelli tires during the Belgian Grand Prix and the responsibility of the teams—foremost among them Red Bull—which did not follow Pirelli’s usage recommendations, Paul Hembery, head of competition at the Italian manufacturer, stated that he would be more conservative in his recommendations, especially in a place like Monza.

A promise made, a promise kept, as Autosport reports that Pirelli has lowered its recommendations for the Italian Grand Prix. Thus, the camber angle of the front wheels recommended by Pirelli until today was 4°—exceeded by a hair at Spa by Red Bull, as admitted by Adrian Newey himself—and will now be 3.75°. « We have slightly reduced the limits to be slightly more cautious, » explains Paul Hembery. « According to our data, Monza should be, in some respects, as demanding as Spa [for the tires]. However, according to weather forecasts, we should be able to run on a dry track [editor’s note: there is a chance of rain starting Sunday according to the BBC] and with this safety margin, it should go well. »

The Briton assures, however, that Pirelli cannot be more conservative because there would be a problem in the curve. We must be cautious with this kind of thing, but we believe we have set a reasonable limit for the teams.

Paul Hembery is keen to point out that there is no reason to argue or worry about the relationship between the Italian manufacturer and Red Bull Racing: Teams that push the limit probably happen in many races, it’s part of the game […]. No one could have predicted what happened in Belgium because it rained during testing, so there were many circumstances at play. It didn’t help us and it didn’t help Red Bull Racing, but we are not going to fight with them and vice versa.

The Pirelli representative also assures that Red Bull is not the only team affected by these new recommendations: « It’s a problem for all the teams, in fact. We are asking all of them to follow our guidelines and, because Red Bull was ahead and won the race, the focus was probably more directed at them, but there were some other issues we wanted to resolve with the other teams. We have sorted that out now and have discussed it with those concerned. »

However, it should be noted that Pirelli only makes recommendations, and teams are free to follow them or not. Following the Belgian Grand Prix, it was suggested that the FIA could impose compliance with Pirelli’s recommendations in the name of safety, which Paul Hembery denies, even if he does not rule out the idea: « I haven’t heard about it, but it remains an option because it concerns the kind of areas where we want to be sure of what is happening and be sure about the data we have to deal with: it’s fundamental! »