Skip to main content

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

Recommended for you

What were Antonelli’s chances of starting on the front row in Austria without his yellow-flag blunder?

Feature
Formula 1
Austrian GP
What were Antonelli’s chances of starting on the front row in Austria without his yellow-flag blunder?

WRC Acropolis Rally Greece: Neuville has “no choice” but to take more risks to win

WRC
Rally Greece
WRC Acropolis Rally Greece: Neuville has “no choice” but to take more risks to win

Red Bull apologises to Max Verstappen after technical issue caused F1 qualifying crash

Formula 1
Austrian GP
Red Bull apologises to Max Verstappen after technical issue caused F1 qualifying crash

WRC Acropolis Rally Greece: Neuville and Ogier set for Sunday showdown

WRC
Rally Greece
WRC Acropolis Rally Greece: Neuville and Ogier set for Sunday showdown

Why Antonelli aborted his fastest lap in Austrian GP qualifying

Formula 1
Austrian GP
Why Antonelli aborted his fastest lap in Austrian GP qualifying

Verstappen questions "crazy" delay in double yellow flags as the FIA responds

Formula 1
Austrian GP
Verstappen questions "crazy" delay in double yellow flags as the FIA responds

Russell explains meaning behind Wolff's "just drive" radio message in Austrian GP qualifying

Formula 1
Austrian GP
Russell explains meaning behind Wolff's "just drive" radio message in Austrian GP qualifying

Why factory Aprilia lost to satellite Trackhouse in MotoGP Dutch GP sprint

MotoGP
Dutch GP
Why factory Aprilia lost to satellite Trackhouse in MotoGP Dutch GP sprint

F1 must clear up tyre rules after Italian GP - Mercedes' Toto Wolff

Formula 1 must clarify the regulations with regards when tyre pressures need to be at the legal requirement, according to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff

Lewis Hamilton's Italian Grand Prix victory was under threat when his left-rear tyre, along with team-mate Nico Rosberg's, was found to be below Pirelli's limit.

However, the stewards ruled they were satisfied the team followed the currently specified procedure, supervised by the tyre manufacturer for safe operation of tyres.

Wolff said the time when tyre pressures are checked, which on Sunday was after the five-minute signal before the race, should be specified.

"The question is about the procedure," said Wolff. "We check them when we put them on the car.

"You could say when is the moment you should actually check them - five minutes, eight minutes before?

"It is about defining the procedure on when the tyres are checked in the future so it's the same for everybody."

Wolff categorically denied his team deliberately setting pressures so they would meet the requirement at the time of testing but drop lower by the start of the race.

"I can absolutely rule that out," he said.

"We have worked the whole week after Spa with Pirelli in order to make the tyres safe.

"We are very much part of trying to guide them on minimum tyre pressures and minimum camber, which we already had on our cars in Spa.

"So I can rule out that we would try to gain an advantage in a way that is unscientific and uncontrollable.

"How do you measure how much a tyre pressure drops when you disconnect it - and why would you only have it on one tyre and with discrepancies on two cars?"

Wolff said the reason the team had asked Hamilton to push was to generate a margin should the team be penalised, once it learned about the investigation.

He said: "In terms of asking Lewis to push, when we got the message that there was an investigation into tyre pressures, we didn't understand what was going on.

"There could have been possible penalties, so in order to gain a little bit of a margin we asked him to push."

Previous article Mercedes F1 team turned Nico Rosberg's engine up before it failed
Next article Using new F1 engine at Monza a risk, Mercedes boss Wolff admits

Top Comments

Latest news