Pirelli Counters Marko’s Allegations

Helmut Marko had harsh criticism for Pirelli in our last interview with him. Now the tire manufacturer justifies itself to ABMS and F1 Insider.

Recently, Red Bull adviser Dr. Helmut Marko had some frank words for Pirelli (details here). One of his key statements:

“It is striking that the rule changes and decisions have always been good for Mercedes lately.”

In response to these allegations, Pirelli clarified some points with ABMS and F1 Insider. Motorsport boss Mario Isola:

“We are satisfied with the 2019 tires. So far we have not seen any significant blistering and the time difference between the different tire compounds is between 0.8 and 1.1 seconds on average – in accordance with the set targets before the start of the season.

“The tires that all teams are currently using are of the exact same specification as the tires used by the teams during the Abu Dhabi Test last year in November following the season finale.

“Also with the 2019 cars and in good weather conditions, there were no complaints from the teams at the winter tests in Barcelona.

“The procedure for demanding changes to the tires during a season is clear. An inquiry can come from the FIA directly or from at least 70% of the teams.

“So far there is no request to modify the 2019 tires – neither from the teams nor the FIA.

“2018 has changed the tread depth for three specific races to prevent blistering: Barcelona, Le Castellet, and Silverstone. From a technical point of view, these changes worked very well without disrupting the balance of power.

“Mercedes won in Spain, Ferrari in Silverstone, while in France the race was influenced by an early safety car period, but both teams have shown a competitive pace.

“In the test following the Spanish GP, Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel tested the new specifications and compared them to the standard tires. He confirmed that the thinner tread worked better. “

*This article was first published in German at autobild.de/motorsport.