How F1 wasted months on a product it may never use

The saga of what tyre specification will be used in 2020 continues to rumble on and remains a source of much frustration to the Formula 1 teams.

The bottom line is that they won't know until well into December whether they will be using the product that Pirelli has spent huge resources on developing for next year, or sticking with the tyres they've used this season.

Why is that so significant? It's because the 2020 tyres have a different shape shoulder, and that has an impact on aerodynamics - and specifically the way the rear tyres interact with the floor. Teams are well down the road with designing their new cars, so not knowing what they're aiming for is hardly ideal.

It is for just that reason that the FIA technical regulations specify that the following season's tyre construction has to be formally specified by September 1, so teams can adjust their development around any change of shape.

That regulations deadline was missed by a long way, with Pirelli finalising its choice only in early October. However, because the new tyre subsequently proved such a flop with drivers and teams when trialled during Friday practice at Austin, there's now a chance that F1 will stick with the 2019 tyre shape after all.

The decision won't be made until a week or so after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, meaning teams won't know what tyre shape they have to build their cars around until more than three months after the original deadline passed.

"It's been an interesting process," says Mercedes technical director James Allison with a wry grin. "There's been all sorts of unusual decisions taken to get us to where we are today, but we're relatively relaxed about whichever direction it goes. We've tested the tyre a couple of times and I think we should be alright whichever direction.

"It's just going to be bit of a nuisance, waiting until that point in the year to know for sure what the aerodynamic shape of the tyre is going to be. But that's going to be the same for everyone."

By the time Pirelli knew exactly what teams wanted, its 2020 testing programme was almost over

Mercedes may be relaxed, but it's much more of a drama for the smaller teams, who have fewer R&D resources and are less able to contend with late changes.

"The September deadline was put in for a reason," says Racing Point's Otmar Szafnauer, a vocal critic of the way the rules have been bypassed. "That's so we had certainty of tyre construction, which can have a big impact on all of our development.

"Unfortunately for smaller teams like us, if you change things later on, we can't react as quickly and it just makes us worse off. On the one hand the FIA and the commercial rights holder want closer and better racing, but on the other hand they do things like this, which just spreads the grid apart even more.

"We don't have the new windtunnel tyres yet, we only have last year's. From that regard it's an even playing field. However, when we do get the new ones - if we get them - the bigger teams can react quicker."

How has this unsatisfactory situation come about? It's happened essentially because debate about what route F1 tyres should take is never ending, and Pirelli finds itself being pushed and pulled in different directions.

Earlier this year, some teams were so frustrated with the behaviour of the 2019 tyres that they wanted to go back to the 2018-specification thinner-gauge tread. It came to a head with a heated meeting in Austria, although the fuss died away in the middle of the season.

The man handling the FIA's side of the tyre debate is the head of single-seater matters Nikolas Tombazis, who already has his hands full with 2021 business.

"It's been quite a few chapters!" says Tombazis of the ongoing tyre saga. "On the one hand, of course, there were a lot of comments about this year's tyres overheating more. And that is one of the problems that makes it difficult sometimes for cars to sustain an attack on another car, for example, or to push for a stint. So it's been always an objective to try to improve that.

"During the first part of the season, there was a lot of noise about tyres not being satisfactory and there were movements to go to other gauges of tyres or whatever of previous years. And then we had a few good races and people sort of calmed down a bit on that.

"In the meantime, though, there was a very clear objective to improve the tyres from Pirelli, and it's our intention to give full support to that. And I think it's the responsibility of everyone to give full support to that."

The tread gauge episode put a fresh focus on what was required from Pirelli and led to a late finalising of a new target letter. By the time the Italian company knew exactly what was wanted, its 2020 testing programme was almost over.

Tombazis has a lot of sympathy for the current tyre supplier: "Just to put it in perspective, the problem Pirelli have to face, or any tyre manufacturer would have to face, is that the loads on the cars nowadays are far larger than any other loads ever seen before in history.

"And the weight of the cars is on the high side, because of all the safety measures and the hybrid engines. The aero downforce is far higher than anything they've had before. So it would have been a very difficult task for anybody.

"It's not like we're saying, 'They don't know how to do tyres', but the problem is very difficult, that's quite important. So we want to give them the full support to improve the situation as much as possible."

When drivers complained of a lack of grip, Pirelli countered by saying that's what it expected - if you want consistency, peak grip will be lower. Will drivers be happy if that's still the case in Abu Dhabi?

Pirelli wanted a final validation test at a high-demand circuit, namely Barcelona. That was scheduled for early October, a few days before the Japanese GP, with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull all participating.

To make it happen, the sporting regulations that govern testing had to be overridden. In theory unanimity for a change is required, and some teams were against it. However, the FIA took another direction, using a technical regulation that states that tyre specification can be changed if seven out of 10 teams vote for it.

There was some concern that the top three teams would gain an advantage over the rest by trying the definitive 2020 tyre at Barcelona. As part of the trade-off it was agreed that everyone would subsequently be allowed to try them on Friday at Austin, before the scheduled full two-day test with them in Abu Dhabi.

That should have been the end of it, except on a bitterly cold Friday at the US GP drivers gave negative feedback on the new tyres, and suddenly there was a clamour to stick with the 2019 specification. And that would mean all Pirelli's development work, conducted at no small expense, would be wasted.

"The test at Austin was very suboptimal because of the weather conditions and how cold it was," says Tombazis. "And also with the benefit of hindsight, Friday practice, I think people are focused on specific race prep and all of that, and they're not really giving the tyre comparison the full, proper attention [because] they don't have the opportunity to re-set up the car, to do adjustments.

After Abu Dhabi opinions will again be canvased and, if there are still negative views, there will be a formal vote. If 70% or more of the teams want to go back to 2019 tyres, that will be the decision

"So for a number of reasons, both weather and the fact that it was part of a race weekend, we didn't get good tests. I also have to say that there's no objective for these tyres to be faster than last year's tyres or something; they are possibly a bit slower because for example they bulge a bit more and have a bigger aerodynamic penalty for example, so you can lose performance.

"On top of that how the cars were back-to-backed at Austin, they lost a bit of rear downforce because they hadn't re-optimised their diffuser. Therefore the cars were a bit unbalanced and the drivers didn't like that. And only two or maybe three teams did more than 10 laps, I think. The vast majority did about five or six laps on these tyres."

One intriguing aspect of the Austin test was that when drivers complained of lack of grip, Pirelli countered by saying that's what it expected - if you want more consistency, peak grip will be lower. Will drivers be happy if that's still the case after the 2020 tyre test in Abu Dhabi?

"These tyres were very suboptimally tested," Tombazis repeats. "In Abu Dhabi they can also lower tyre pressures for example, which wasn't done at Austin. Clearly cars were not very balanced, and so on.

"Ultimately, I don't think they will be slower, these tyres. But on a direct back-to-back, the way it was done, they were always going to be slower and less balanced. If a driver has a car that has reasonable balance and goes out on tyres that are unbalanced and have a bit less grip, it's difficult to imagine that he would come out and say, 'Well, that's what I want'."

Alas, the damage had been done at Austin and some teams suggested after one sampling that the 2020 tyres should be ditched - making the post-Abu Dhabi test obsolete. However, in the days following the race Tombazis wrote to all the teams asking for formal feedback, and it was eventually agreed that the new Pirellis should be given a proper second chance in Abu Dhabi after all.

"We felt we were faced with a choice between two options," says Tombazis. "One was to say we are not completely sure that these tyres are OK, and we choose the 2019 tyres, end of story. That would have meant that the post-season test in Abu Dhabi had no reason for existence anymore, because it's specifically a tyre test.

"And at the cost of having to delay this decision by a few more weeks, we felt that given all the research and work that has gone in there, the fair solution was to provisionally define the 2020 tyres to be the new tyres, to do a thorough back-to-back in Abu Dhabi, with teams able to do full car set-up on old tyres, new tyres. Two days of full comparisons to their heart's content."

The plan is that after Abu Dhabi Tombazis will again canvas opinions and, if there are still negative views, the FIA will take a formal vote. If 70% or more of the teams want to go back to 2019 tyres, that will be the decision.

"If the outcome of that is that teams say, 'Oh, no, really, you know, we don't see any benefits', and so on, then they have the right to vote them out with seven out of 10. If on the other hand hopefully the tyres do prove to be beneficial, we're left with an advantage for the sport.

"The change of tyres has to be instigated by the FIA. So, if we see that there's massive whinging about the tyres, then we will ask there to be a vote. If we see that basically people are happy, and the tyres are overheating less and achieving all the various advantages that they're supposed to do, then we will not instigate a vote."

The FIA is clearly trying to do the right thing for F1, but as Allison suggests, it's been an "interesting process", with deadlines not followed and rules seemingly bypassed. Teams are no doubt wary that while this time it was tyres, next time some other aspect of the rules might be adjusted outside the established procedures.

"As explained to the team principals [in Brazil], I'm not suggesting that how it's been done is the best way and that it's all perfect," Tombazis admits.

"I'm not expecting clapping and cheering! But last year we were faced in June or July with a big brouhaha about the tyres and people wanting to change them in the middle of the year, on the basis of a vote. The alternative was to just keep the current tyres and do nothing.

"And to avoid similar whinging next year, and cries for different constructions or whatever, then I felt at least to get it right in December or late November was better than discussing it in May or June during a championship. People revise their opinions on the basis of their competitive position.

"All these sorts of things are not perfect, but it's the less awkward way to handle it."

An aerodynamicist himself, does Tombazis feel for the teams as they wait for confirmation of what tyre shape will ultimately be used?

"Yeah, I've got sympathy, I understand their concerns. But if it was an easy thing for somebody to just come up with the best tyres like that, then we wouldn't be here discussing it. It's very difficult due to what has been demanded from the tyres, and we have the responsibility to help the tyre supplier as much as possible."

Now all depends on how the tyres behave in Abu Dhabi. But still, in the wake of the Austin disappointment, the drivers may take some convincing - and that will be the real test.