ZitatRace drivers will be allowed in Silverstone young driver test By Jonathan Noble Monday, July 1st 2013, 18:30 GMT
Formula 1 race drivers will be allowed to take part in the forthcoming young driver test as an emergency measure to help Pirelli overcome its tyre difficulties.
On the back of the multiple blow-outs at the British Grand Prix, the FIA announced on Monday that it was seeking approval for an immediate change to F1's testing regulations.
It will ask the World Motor Sport Council to change the rules that forbid race drivers testing during the season. This is likely to be a formality.
That will open the way for teams to call upon their race drivers at the July 17-19 test - although it has been stipulated that regular drivers will only be allowed to work on tyre development and cannot assess car improvements.
In light of the changes to the format of the test, the FIA has suggested that it could now be extended by a day, which would allow teams to both run their regular drivers and assess young talent.
Although the Silverstone test is now no longer the official young driver test, Mercedes has agreed not to run there as part of its punishment for running a 2013 car at Barcelona earlier this year when it tried to help Pirelli with its delamination issues.
REGULATION CHANGES
As well as the change to the test, the FIA will also ask for a revision to the technical regulations that limits changes to tyre specifications during the season as those that have unanimous approval of the teams.
It was this clause in Article 12.6.3 of the rules that meant Pirelli was unable to change its rear tyres at the Canadian Grand Prix to a Kevlar-belted version that would have helped alleviate the delaminations encountered earlier this season.
While the majority of teams were in favour of the move, Force India, Ferrari and Lotus resisted attempts to change the tyres because they were concerned about the competitive implications.
From now on, the FIA wants to have the ability to unilaterally change the tyre specifications when it believes there are necessary grounds to do so.
Vergne was another victim of the tyre issuesSpeaking about the moves, FIA president Jean Todt said: "Our priority is to ensure safety for all in Formula 1 and we believe the incidents at Silverstone represent a genuine safety concern for the drivers.
"We have thus taken the decision to alter the young driver test to allow teams to use drivers they deem fit to carry out tyre development work in a bid to solve the problems we saw at the British Grand Prix.
"I believe it is fitting to carry out this work at the circuit upon which the issues were manifested."
The FIA has also asked Pirelli for assurances that there will be no repeat tyre problems at this weekend's German Grand Prix - or at any race in the future.
Pirelli is expected on Tuesday to announce the results of its investigations in to the British Grand Prix failures, and what action it is taking ahead of the race at the Nurburgring.
Pirelli switch to kevlar belts in tyres after drivers' threat to boycott German Grand Prix via @Telegraph http://fw.to/GJtxHzS
Zitat Pirelli switch to kevlar belts in tyres after drivers' threat to boycott German Grand Prix Under-fire manufacturer Pirelli will almost certainly use its Kevlar-belt tyres in Germany this weekend as it seeks to address the safety issues arising out of Sunday’s British Grand Prix, Telegraph Sport understands. Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes has a left rear tyre failure during the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Blow-out: Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes was the first car to suffer a tyre failure, while he was leading the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Photo: GETTY IMAGES Tom Cary
By Tom Cary, F1 Correspondent
11:00PM BST 01 Jul 2013
Drivers had threatened to boycott the race at the Nürburgring unless modifications were made to the tyres after five cars suffered tyre blow-outs at Silverstone, some of them while travelling at speeds approaching 200mph. Red Bull’s Mark Webber likened the racing to Russian roulette, with nobody sure who was going to be next to suffer a potentially catastrophic failure.
The chances of a drivers’ boycott are practically non-existent, though, with Pirelli acting swiftly to address the safety concerns.
It is understood the Italian manufacturer will issue a statement today, with a switch from steel to Kevlar belts – which it intended to make in Canada last month before the change was blocked by a handful of teams – coming into effect immediately.
A return to 2012 tyres, which also featured Kevlar belts, would have been the preferred solution this weekend but there is insufficient time to prepare them given the five-day turnaround from Sunday’s race to Friday’s first practice session at the Nürburgring. The use of 2012 tyre structures, with 2013 compounds, is likely to come into effect from Hungary at the end of July.
In the meantime, Pirelli has two private tests lined up – one at Paul Ricard next week and the other at Barcelona a fortnight later – at which they will be allowed to use a 2013 car. There is also a young driver test scheduled at Silverstone on July 17-19 at which, it was confirmed on Monday, current grand prix race drivers will be allowed to run. A statement from the FIA said that Mercedes, banned from the young driver test after their illegal 1,000km test with Pirelli in May, had accepted it should take no part in the tests “in the interests of the sport”.
The statement added: “In the meantime, the FIA has asked Pirelli for an assurance that there will be no repetition of the tyre problems at this weekend’s German Grand Prix or at subsequent grand prix.”
Pirelli will give those assurances at the meeting of Formula One’s Sporting Working Committee on Wednesday, but is not expected to encounter any resistance. Ferrari, Lotus and Force India – the three teams who opposed the switch in Canada – all agreed to put safety before their own interests in the wake of Sunday’s fiasco.
Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s chief technical officer, had hit out at the “short-sightedness” of those three teams. “It’s a sad state of affairs but such is the nature of Formula One, really,” Newey said after Sunday’s race. “Pirelli came up with a solution [but] two or three teams vetoed that because they were worried it would suit some other teams more than it would suit them. As a result of that short-sightedness, Formula One ended up putting up the worrying performance it did [at Silverstone].”
Pirelli believes that what occurred at Silverstone was in fact a completely separate issue from the delamination which prompted the tyre manufacturer to propose the belt switch in Canada. Kevlar belts might have made a difference on Sunday but it is unclear whether they would have prevented the blow-outs altogether. After extensive analysis, Pirelli believes the tyres ‘fatigued’ under the heavy loads put through them at the high-speed Silverstone circuit.
This year’s cars are much faster than last year’s – up to two seconds per lap – which means far heavier loads go through the tyres. And since Pirelli was unable to test with current race cars due to the ban on in-season testing, it found it difficult to replicate the sorts of loads experienced on Sunday. The stress on the tyres at Silverstone was aggravated by the high kerbs at Turn Four, which cut into them. This led to the blow-outs, either afterwards on the Wellington Straight or later in the lap.
Pirelli is not thought to be attaching any blame to the Silverstone track, so much as saying the kerbs exacerbated an underlying issue. Derek Warwick, president of Silverstone’s owner the British Racing Drivers Club, dismissed as “absolute rubbish” any suggestion the circuit’s kerbs were to blame.
“These kerbs have been in since 2009 and we have had thousands and thousands of cars go over them and they weer absolutely fine,” Warwick told Sky Sports News. “We have had them checked by the FIA and they conform fully. For me, Bernie, the FIA and Pirelli are bringing the sport into disrepute and they need to have a serious look at themselves.”
The Sporting Working Committee will also discuss having a tyre test in Brazil after the final race of the season at Wednesday’s meeting.
Lotus was one the teams working better with last year tyres... can it favor Lotus somehow? we should see. but Merc might be back to year 2012 (sort of). he-he
Zitat von Denorththere are rumors that Sauber stopped paying Hulk his salary and suppliers haven't been paid for longer than usual.
That would be very " title="" /> if true..
Hulk's potential seems significantly higher than our current crop of young drivers. And I'm sure he is kicking himself all the time for leaving FI.. This is certainly not going to help!
I also read somewhere that Sauber was in deep financial trouble and that they even stopped developing it's 2014 car already. And if they didn't find sponsorship soon, they are going to be out of F1 in 2014!
Zitat von DenorthLotus was one the teams working better with last year tyres... can it favor Lotus somehow? we should see. but Merc might be back to year 2012 (sort of). he-he
Zitat von DenorthLotus was one the teams working better with last year tyres... can it favor Lotus somehow? we should see. but Merc might be back to year 2012 (sort of). he-he
as I understood they will keep front tyres form the current year (good for Lotus to put heat in them), and use kevlar based tyres in rear as in the last year. And I hope this combination will backfire for Ferrari and Merc and will put lotus back on track " title="yes" /> (it won't make those idiots in front of the screen more clever, though " title="mad" /> )
ZitatF1 Fanatic @f1fanatic_co_uk 1h Pirelli say swapping tyres side-to-side, low pressures, camber setting and kerbs contributed to blow-outs: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/07/02/m ... s-pirelli/ … #F1
So Pirelli is blaming the teams for tyre blowouts
ZitatMultiple factors caused Silverstone punctures – Pirelli 2013 British Grand Prix July 2, 2013 at 6:17 pm by Keith Collantine
Pirelli say a combination of different factors caused a series of high-speed tyre blowouts during the British Grand Prix.
F1′s official tyre supplier said the failures were caused by teams using tyre pressures that were too low, swapping the tyres between the left and right sides of the car and using severe camber angles.
They added the severity of the kerbs at some high-speed corners such as turn four also precipitated the failures.
Pirelli admitted it had not previously discouraged teams from swapping the tyres across the car. It has asked the FIA to prevent teams from continuing the practice as well as setting limits for tyre pressure and camber.
“Under-inflation of the tyres and extreme camber settings, over which Pirelli has no control, are choices that can be dangerous under certain circumstances,” the company added in a statement.
“Because of this, Pirelli has asked the FIA for these parameters will be a topic of accurate and future examinations. Pirelli has also asked for compliance with these rules to be checked by a dedicated delegate.”
Aggressive camber angles were also blamed for tyre blistering at the Belgian Grand Prix in 2011, the first year of Pirelli’s current tenure in the sport. From the following race they stipulated a maximum camber limit teams had to adhere to.
Pirelli denied the punctures seen at Silverstone were related to the tyre delaminations which occurred earlier in the season.
In order to prevent a repeat of the Silverstone failures Pirelli says it needs access to “real-time data from the teams regarding fundamental parameters such as pressure, temperature and camber angles” in future.
The company asserted that “the 2013 tyre range does not compromise driver safety in any way if used in the correct manner, and that it meets all the safety standards requested by the FIA”.
I'm sure Pirelli has a point. Of course the tyres are not the most durable but why only certain teams where affected? And the cuts must be caused by something. So it's a compination of the teams not using the tyres as they should, pushing the limit too far, a sharp kerb and the more fragile tyre. makes perfect sense. The teams can't just blame Pirelli. And now they get other tyres and I hope all that tyre talk ends now. I just fear it will help Mercedes most " title="" />
Of course all those things could caused the damage but I think Pirelli not telling the whole true, if it's safe then they have no reason to change the tyres, just need to make sure the teams follow the rules.
Zitat von YiNingOf course all those things could caused the damage but I think Pirelli not telling the whole true, if it's safe then they have no reason to change the tyres, just need to make sure the teams follow the rules.
yeah sure but the problem is that there are no rules about pressure, camber settings and swapping tyres. Pirelli just gives advice what teams should use but they can do what they want. maybe would be good if FIA makes rules for that.
Zitat von YiNingOf course all those things could caused the damage but I think Pirelli not telling the whole true, if it's safe then they have no reason to change the tyres, just need to make sure the teams follow the rules.
yeah sure but the problem is that there are no rules about pressure, camber settings and swapping tyres. Pirelli just gives advice what teams should use but they can do what they want. maybe would be good if FIA makes rules for that.
I'm getting quite sick of Pirelli deflecting the blame away from themselves. The fact of the matter is this: have you ever seen another tyre manufacturer whose tyres are exploding for MULTIPLE reasons throughout the course of a season? First it was delamination's. Now it's a "combination of factors." " title="roll" />
Pirelli are walking a fine line with their tyres between performance life and tyre durability. FOM and the FIA can have all the say they want about what Pirelli should produce. But is anyone other than Pirelli producing the tyres? How the blame therefore fall on others when tyres are exploding for multiple reasons? Pirelli at one time did set a maximum recommended camber angle. Yes, we all remember the famous blisters on Vettel's car at SPA because Red Bull pushed those limits. But I personally haven't heard any talk about maximum recommended camber settings, swapping tyres from left to right side, or minimum recommended tyre pressures so far this year. It's the same story after every drama. Pirelli " title="" /> and " title="sad" /> because "the teams are not doing enough." Pirelli knew about the lack of in-season testing before the season. Wouldn't it therefore make sense to not walk such a fine line if you knew you couldn't test such a fragile tyre, especially for circuits that are more demanding throughout the calendar than those they test on in the pre-season?
I think Pirelli needs to shoulder a lot more of the blame than they currently do. It's a constant cycle of reaction AFTER tyre drama's happen during a weekend. And it's finally come to a diabolical point where something significant must change.
It's a shame we live in a world where Formula 1 now "feels" that it needs to appeal to the common observer. And needs to "spice up the show" in order to keep eyes watching the TV. Before I go on too long of a tangent, I think a lot of this fueled by Bernie's desire to siphon even more money from Formula 1. And I think his greed is going to bring Formula 1 to a point just as diabolical as the tyre situation reached at Silverstone in the near future.. " title="holy" />
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Mon Jul 01, 2013 8:46 pm
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" title="sad" /> because "the teams are not doing enough." Pirelli knew about the lack of in-season testing before the season. Wouldn't it therefore make sense to not walk such a fine line if you knew you couldn't test such a fragile tyre, especially for circuits that are more demanding throughout the calendar than those they test on in the pre-season? 