Hamilton: “I’m not having fun with the 2013 Pirellis”

The tires produced by Pirelli, the sole manufacturer for F1 since 2011, are not appreciated by everyone. At the FIA’s request, these tires tend to degrade extremely quickly, which has made the races of the last two seasons much more strategic. Too much so, according to Lewis Hamilton.

The former McLaren driver doesn’t seem to have too much difficulty managing his tires properly, as evidenced by his first podium with the Mercedes team last weekend in Malaysia. Certainly, the British driver saw his teammate Nico Rosberg closing in like a cannonball at the end of the race, maintaining the advantage only thanks to team orders established by Ross Brawn, but Hamilton was far from struggling with his tires. Despite his promising start with his new team, the 2008 World Champion regrets the strategic turn that races have taken since the arrival of the Italian manufacturer, to the detriment of the pure speed of the past.

« These tires make life hard, » he explained. « It is very difficult to preserve them, especially for me in Malaysia. I wasn’t able to make them last as long as I wanted. I was saving fuel from very early in the race, which made me lose a lot of time, but overall, these tires just aren’t fun, I didn’t enjoy the race. »

The British driver, known for his incisive overtakes, naturally regrets a time when tires didn’t degrade as easily, allowing for more aggressiveness towards the rubber: « It’s not like in the past when we could push to the maximum all the time during our stints, we had tires that lasted. Now, it’s like you have 100 dollars and you have to spend them wisely over a certain period of time. It totally changes the race philosophy. It’s more strategic than pure speed.»

Are Pirelli tires solely intended to artificially create spectacle to attract a broader audience to F1, or do they push drivers to develop skills beyond pure speed? The topic is debated, and everyone will have their opinion on the matter.