Horner sees no point in playing blame game in tyre row
Red Bull boss Christian Horner believes Formula 1's focus should be on ensuring there is no repeat of the tyre fiasco it has faced this year, rather than working out who is to blame for what happened
Ahead of a busy few weeks for the teams working out how to get on top of a whole new generation of tyres from the Hungarian Grand Prix, Horner suggests that it is essential F1 does not dwell too much on why the sport came so close to disaster.
"As with all these things, it is never straightforward," Horner told AUTOSPORT. "There is no smoking gun for anyone, and I think at times like this it is about working together and trying to find solutions rather than pointing fingers.
"That is what we need to do with Pirelli and the FIA to find solutions - because the last thing we want is for Pirelli to leave the sport."
As well as the technical issues that have come to light in recent days as the causes of the problems, Pirelli was also unable to make changes to the tyres earlier this year because of opposition from some teams.
In the wake of the events at the British Grand Prix, the FIA has changed the regulations to make it easier for the governing body to allow specification changes - and not involve the teams.
Horner thinks that getting consent from the teams was always going to be a difficult requirement, because of the competitive nature of the sport.
"I think the problem with the teams is that there will always be competitive instinct between the teams," he said.
"The teams will look to protect a perceived advantage wherever they can, because they are competitors and they are competing, whereas for the tyre supplier they are on the podium at every race, they are going to win no matter what.
"For the FIA, safety is their primary focus and concern. Sometimes it is difficult for the teams to be objective, but in this case with what we saw at Silverstone, it is absolutely clear that what we have been talking about since Malaysia has to happen."
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