Hamilton among drivers critical of F1’s new ATA format
F1 are experimenting with a new format - dubbed the alternative tyre allocation (ATA) - in Hungary to cut the number of tyres used on a grand prix weekend for sustainability reasons.
Each driver has 11 sets of slick tyres in Budapest, compared to the standard allocation of 13 for a traditional weekend. Tyre usage is mandated for qualifying, with hards required to be used in Q1, mediums in Q2, and then softs for the top-10 shootout in Q3.
But seven-time world champion Hamilton said the format tweak results in less running during practice, something he feels is bad for the fans.
"We only had one tyre that we were going to use this session. Not really a great format this change that they made for this weekend, it just means we get less running,” Hamilton said.
“Not ideal, and there's a lot of wet tyres I think they throw away after every weekend, like a lot, maybe they should look at something like that rather than taking time on track away from the fans.”
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen agreed with the view of his great rival, saying: “With this new format, you are super limited with the tyres you can use and I didn't want to use them today to at least have better preparation tomorrow.
"It's a shame. There are so many people around and you basically don't run a lot so we will have to see what we can do to improve that. We are literally just saving tyres which I think is not the correct thing.”
Meanwhile, McLaren driver Lando Norris admitted the changes had left him confused but said there would have been even less running had FP1 not been rain-affected.
“I think we were lucky it rained, otherwise pretty much no one would have done anything in P1. It's complicated, it's confusing to me even," he explained.
Teammate Oscar Piastri added: “It's tricky. You're trying to use as little amount of tyres as possible while learning as much as you can.
"I think it would have been quite a limited day of running if it was fully dry. We probably saw more laps than we would have with the rain.
"It’s never that fun when you have one or two sets of tyres for a whole Friday, but it's a new challenge for us all."
However, Charles Leclerc highlighted what he feels is a positive aspect of the new format.
“Very difficult to read into today’s free practice, I think it’s something we expected being the first weekend on this format with this tyre allocation,” the Ferrari driver said after FP2.
“Everybody’s trying different things, but it’s nice because I think we will go into qualifying not really knowing where we are and I’m sure that’s exciting, but the feeling was pretty good, so this is positive.”
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