World News – AU – Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel lead driver complaints about 2021 tires

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Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel have expressed dismay at the performance of their 2021 Pirelli tires, which were tested during practice at the Bahrain GP.

All drivers received two sets of one of the compounds planned for the next season, which have a different tire construction than this year.

However, some drivers were unsatisfied with their performance. Both Hamilton and Vettel suggested that Formula 1 stick with this year’s tires, which were first introduced in 2019.

« Oh god . . . I’m trying my best not to say anything! ”said Hamilton when asked for his judgment on the tire’s performance after Friday’s practice session.

« Look, I want to say that we have a team from Pirelli here every weekend. I have the greatest respect for the guys who come here and charge our tires, bring them here and protect us. You are doing a great job.

« We’ve had the same tire for the past two years. In late 2019 they brought a new tire, which they usually do, and it was quite a bit worse. Then they just said, « Okay, now we’ll just keep the tire we had from last year. « .

« So you had two years to develop a better tire and we came up with a tire that is three kilos heavier and one second worse per lap. I know it doesn’t really make a difference to the fans, but from a rider point of view, we work with brands and partners who are on the cutting edge of technology, evolving and moving forward and if you come back after two years of development I know not what happens.

« It definitely doesn’t feel good out there, and it’s a worry. I would prefer to just stick to these [2020] tires. If that’s all they have, and that’s the best they can do, which clearly is, then it would just be better to stick with that tire. « 

« Probably worth a try, but I hope we don’t see these tires again. They are a lot worse than the tires we are currently running.

He added, « If this is the only option for ’21 then I would definitely like to stick with the 2019 tires. « 

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen said « we were a little bit everywhere » in terms of grip and balance while Daniel Ricciardo said « they were a little slow ». .

A second test of another composite is planned for the Abu Dhabi season end GP in two weeks. Pirelli made changes to the construction of its tires after the mistakes at the British GP in August and ever – increasing downforce levels.

© 2020 Sky UK

Pirelli, Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton, Bahrain Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel, Mercedes AMG Petronas F1-Team