The new pneumatic allocation does not convince all pilots
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have been critical of the new qualifying format introduced this weekend in Hungary. Both world champions believe that it disrupts their Grand Prix preparation.
It is well known. As soon as something changes, opinions are divided. Some love it, others hate it. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are currently part of the second category. The two men are skeptical of the new qualifying format.
For this Hungarian Grand Prix, the drivers will only have 11 sets of tires instead of the usual 13. This also has an impact on the qualifying sessions. In Q1, it will be mandatory to use the hard compound, in Q2 the medium compound, and in Q3 the softest compound.
« We can’t really drive much »
This new format thus forces the drivers and their teams to modify their plans. The preparation is not done like during a traditional weekend «. And this does not suit Max Verstappen.
« With this new format, the number of tire sets is very limited and I didn’t want to use them today in order to have better preparation for tomorrow. But it’s a bit of a shame; there are so many people here and basically, we can’t really drive much. We need to see what we can do to improve this, because we’re literally saving tires, which, I think, is not the right thing to do, » estimates the Red Bull driver.
A format that does not unite everyone
Lewis Hamilton did not appreciate this first day of testing either. In FP1, the British driver did not do much driving due to the rain, and during the second practice session, he mainly completed a long stint to test tire degradation. On the team radio, he indicated that he did not like this type of work. This opinion was later shared with the media at the end of the day.
« I only had one tire for the session. So it’s not really a major format change that was introduced this weekend. It simply means that we have less track time, which is not ideal, » complains the seven-time world champion.
The British then indicated that Pirelli should focus on the allocation of rain tires instead of introducing such formats. « I think they throw away a lot of rain tires after weekends. Maybe they should consider something in that regard rather than taking away track time from the fans. »
