F1: Drivers Express Concern About Pirelli Degradation

Formula 1

F1: Drivers Express Concern About Pirelli Degradation

The degradation of the new Pirelli tire has some top drivers worried...

SPEED Staff / GMM | Posted March 01, 2011 GMM Newswire

Fernando Alonso shakes down the new Pirelli tires during preseason testing in Jerez. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Three leading F1 drivers have admitted their concerns about this year's Pirelli tires.

"The problem is that they degrade too quickly," reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel said on Austrian television Servus TV.

"By lap 16 or 17 they're falling apart," said the German, who said the problems could push drivers up to 10 "or maybe more" seconds per lap off the pace.

Vettel said there is not enough time now for Pirelli to redesign and rebuild new tires for the 2011 season.

"The hard tires degrade just as quickly as the softs," Fernando Alonso is quoted by El Pais newspaper after a sponsor visit to Madrid on Monday.

"There will be lots of pit stops," added the Ferrari driver, according to the Spanish press. "There will be three or four (pit stops per race) and that's not good for the big teams.

"It mixes the situation, just as in football if there was a penalty each half hour, Barcelona and Real Madrid would not be happy. If it's better for anybody, it's the small teams."

Vettel said it is wrong to suggest that sensitive drivers like Jenson Button will benefit the most from the severe degradation.

"The problem is that after a certain number of laps the tire is finished, no matter what the driver does," the German added.

Force India's Adrian Sutil told Auto Motor und Sport that when the Pirelli tires degrade, "it's like being in a touring car, "(or) like being on intermediates," added the German.

"I've tried to drive differently, say 20 percent slower at the beginning, and that gives you maybe one more lap.

"We will probably all be pitting at the same time, and quite often," said Sutil.

He predicted that the first impact on F1 is that, due to the limited supply of dry tires per driver, there will be less action in free practice.

"After the tires break down you can't really test anything," said Sutil.

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