F1 News
Pirelli: "Our tyres are not the reason that Mercedes is so dominant"
Pirelli have insisted that their tyres are not a reason for Mercedes dominance this season. The German team have really excelled when using the 2019 Pirelli compounds and many have been critical of Pirelli, saying that they have made a tyre to suit Mercedes. Mario Isola has said that Mercedes performances are not due to the tyres favouring them and has said that multiple teams wanted the tyres that are being used.
“Yes, we know that Mercedes is very fast this season. But for the sake of convenience, forget them. What can we say about McLaren, Toro Rosso and Renault? They are really fast at times. Proof has therefore been provided that other teams have mastered the tires," Isola told RaceFans.
“If you look at previous years, it has always been that there are teams that understand the tires just a little faster at the beginning of the year than the rest. Sometimes it's Mercedes, sometimes Ferrari, Red Bull or another team."
Mercedes wanted thinner tyres after the 2018 season and that is what they got but Isola believes that other teams were also asking for thinner tyres.
“In Barcelona, we had a race last year where Mercedes dominated the thinner tire. In the following days, the in-season test came and Sebastian Vettel tested both the thinner and the normal thickness. His conclusion? "The thinner is better."
“The Barcelona issue has been clarified, now two others. At Paul Ricard, it was not entirely clear that one car was really much faster than the rest and at Silverstone, Mercedes did not win on the thinner tire. So I think it's hard to say that the thinner tires are the reason that a certain team has a clear advantage."
It seems that tyres are just being used as a reason for Mercedes impressive results so far this season. Most teams wanted these tyres and just haven't been able to make them work as well as Mercedes have.