Pirelli chief warns teams NOT TO USE some race tyres in Austrian Grand Prix

Pirelli

Pirelli chief warns teams NOT TO USE some race tyres in Austrian GP

Degradation is set to be a key component of the Austrian GP and Pirelli have warned the teams

Joe Ellis

Saturday 1 July 2023 21:57

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Pirelli Motorsport Director Mario Isola has warned teams not to use the soft tyres in the Austrian Grand Prix.

The difference with sprint weekends brings fewer tyres to the track which has seen teams be more cautious with their use of medium and hard compounds in practice and qualifying.

The soft tyre, however, has been exhausted by everyone ahead of the grand prix and is unlikely to be used again.

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That decision may have come after Isola's latest comments regarding the soft tyre at the Red Bull Ring, which he does not believe will be a worthwhile race tyre.

The soft tyre was highly preferred in qualifying thanks to the extra grip it generates

Rear tyre killer

"This is a very testing track in terms of traction and braking, and therefore for the rear tyres this year, with the front rebalancing in some cars there may still be a bit of difficulty managing the rear," Isola said, as quoted by Formula Passion.

“Which is why we believe that the soft is probably not the right choice for either the sprint or the race.

“The medium and hard tires performed well, in the one-hour free practice we tried a bit of everything, but the data collected gives us enough confidence for what our forecasts were.”