Binotto: Ferrari not blaming Pirelli for 2019 F1 tyre saga

Ferrari acknowledges the difficult task Pirelli has in developing Formula 1 tyres and is “not blaming” the Italian manufacturer for the job it is doing, according Mattia Binotto.

The Scuderia was among a number of teams to push for a mid-season change to revert to Pirelli’s 2018 tyre specification due to concerns over Mercedes early dominance of the 2019 campaign, but the move failed to gain sufficient support in a team vote held on the eve of the Austrian Grand Prix.

For the change to be permitted, at least seven of the 10 teams would have had to lobby for F1 to return to last season’s thicker-tread compound construction.

“Pirelli is developing the tyres trying to do their best no doubt,” Binotto said at the British Grand Prix.

“They are doing that through their development program during the season with track testing with all the teams and in Abu Dhabi we have the common testing when everyone is testing almost the final specification for the next year.

“We are not blaming Pirelli for the job they are doing, they are doing the best they can, but the only way we can try as a team to try to change something you believe is wrong is to hope 70% of the teams agree with you.”

“I think the story is over now,” Binotto added. “But the story was over even before Austria. If you need the majority to change specifications I think there will be never an opportunity to change it. We feel, as Ferrari, that it’s a shame. We feel that it would’ve been better for the show to change it.

“I think that even the process itself may be needs to be improved because we have no voice with the tyre specifications for the season, the only voice we have is by majority to change them. So I think that is something that the FIA needs to think about.”

Asked why Ferrari feels it would have been better for the show to go back to last year’s compound specification, Binotto replied: “I think that if you look at this season many teams got difficulties in warming up the tyres.

“The window is very narrow and if you are falling off the window you are lacking performance and that is somehow increasing the gap between the best teams and the slowest.

“If you increase the thickness of the gauge, simply you are reducing, or at least helping teams that are having difficulties with the tyres itself. That makes more equal racing.”