F1 News
Brawn: "I would have preferred to have persevered and stuck with the 2020 tyres"
Ross Brawn wanted Formula 1 to choose the 2020 Pirelli compounds for next season but instead, the teams decided unanimously to use the 2019 rubber once again next season. Brawn believes that the 2020 compounds fixed some of the issues with the 2019 rubber and thinks it would have improved racing.
“The unfortunate thing was the objective for 2020 was [to have] more ability for drivers to lean on the tyres to help them in racing situations," Brawn says to RaceFans. "It wasn’t to be quicker. It could have been slower: there was nothing to say they couldn’t be a bit slower than what we have now.
“But they needed to be more of what the drivers were asking for, which was a tyre they could lean on more and they drive a bit harder without losing performance. And there’s certainly signs that they achieved that."
Teams didn't want to use the new rubber after two testing sessions in Abu Dhabi and there wasn't a positive response.
“I don’t think a number of teams wanted to have to address that because it was a bit of an unintended consequence of the change of construction," Brawn said. "I would have preferred to have persevered and stuck with the 2020 tyres and solved the issues because I think they did achieve the objectives. But it’s a team decision and that’s where it’s gone.”
Teams will have a lot of data on the 2019 rubber and this will make things easier as we prepare for next season.