Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

F1 tyre supplier Pirelli to reveal Italian Grand Prix limits

Pirelli will on Friday release data regarding new tyre pressures and other directives for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza amid criticism from Formula 1 drivers

The Italian manufacturer confirmed "the absence of any structural problems" following an investigation into Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel's tyre failures at Spa, adding "an exceptional number of cuts" were discovered.

As is the case ahead of every GP weekend, Pirelli issued a directive to the teams with a recommendation for Monza tyre pressures and camber limits.

AUTOSPORT understands Pirelli has suggested 22psi for the fronts and 21psi for the rears, compared to 20 and 18.5 respectively at Spa.

It is believed the rise is not a reaction to the incidents at Spa but rather to recognise the unique pressures the Monza track presents.

There was confusion over the exact increase in the Monza paddock on Thursday, as a number of drivers expected a rise of 5psi.

World champion Lewis Hamilton said: "In terms of putting the pressures up, I personally don't think it's the right way, but they might not do it anyway.

"I don't think any of us have tried 5psi more because they are not designed to have 5psi more; they work in a range.

"We will be moving out of the optimum range of the tyre, we'll be using a different part of the tyre, which means more wear, less grip. It's going to be a disaster.

"So I hope they don't put 5psi more in. A couple is OK."

McLaren's Jenson Button backed Pirelli's decision to provide limits but he was concerned at the rumoured mark for Monza.

"I'm happy that they've got limits," said Button. "They're pretty scary limits. For every F1 team, we've never run tyres with this pressure before, or such low camber.

"It might throw up other things, so we've got to see what happens in testing tomorrow.

"I understand why they're doing it. I think we're all thankful that they are immediately changing something and it should be better, because you've got less movement of the casing sidewall.

"So hopefully it will help. But if [the problem] is cuts, pressures aren't going to make much difference."

Button's team-mate Fernando Alonso added: "They are always right, because they are the experts on their product.

"Nevertheless, to be in Formula 1 with the technology we have in our cars, to have these kinds of limits is quite strange.

"I agree they probably are a necessity. The first thing is safety."

Lotus's Romain Grosjean agreed the limits sounded severe but backed prioritising safety.

"It's probably a bit strong, but on the other hand, but I think this year we have had enough drama in [motor]sport in general." he said.

"We want to avoid anything else. On one side there are very strong limits; on the other side as long as there is no real fix it's better to go that way than having a problem.

"It's going to hurt everyone - some more than others."

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Jenson Button says it's time for closed cockpits in Formula 1
Next article Why Renault has come unstuck again

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe