Formula 1 to consider qualifying changes over tyre-saving issues
Formula 1 chiefs are to consider a change to the tyres rules for qualifying, AUTOSPORT has learned, following controversy about cars not running in Q3 this year
Sources have revealed that a plan to increase the allocation of tyres for the final round of qualifying has been added to the agenda for this week's Formula One Commission meeting that takes place in Geneva on Thursday.
It comes on the back of questions being raised about the spectacle of qualifying being ruined by teams deliberately not running in the final grid shoot-out session because they want to keep fresher tyres for the race.
Interestingly, the idea to add the Q3 tyre issue to the F1 Commission did not come from tyre supplier Pirelli, which held talks with team representatives in India last week to discuss the issue.
The outcome of that meeting was that Pirelli and the teams agreed that the current tyre regulations are fine as they are - with both parties understanding why Q3 tyre-saving had become common practice.
Speaking to AUTOSPORT about the outcome of those talks in India, Pirelli's director of motorsport Paul Hembery said: "We had a good collaborative meeting with the teams, and at the moment their opinion is that there is nothing wrong with Q3. They feel it adds a strategic element to Q3. Plus, with teams battling in that mid ground there, the margins are very fine and they feel that it is a new element of qualifying.
"If they are happy there is not a lot we can do, and we have to go along with their wishes. What we have said, however, is that if that view changes or the sport feels there has to be a change, then we will support any change as we need to.
"We will see what happens at the F1 Commission meeting. It has been raised by somebody else perhaps. We will see what everyone has to say when we have the opportunity to work together."
Hembery said that there were numerous ways that the Q3 situation could be resolved - but felt it better the matter was discussed properly at the F1 Commission.
"We have been through millions of permutations, which can include just substituting the sets of Q3 tyres overnight. There are all sorts of different ways of doing it, but at the moment we are not being asked to come up with any solutions as teams are happy with where it is."
When asked if Pirelli was happy for it to stay the same, Hembery said: "As long as teams explain why there is that tactical intrigue, so fans can understand it better. You can imagine a lot of people think we write the tyre rules, so we get caught up in that."
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