Alonso: New Pirelli tires hurt Aston Martin and RBR
Fernando Alonso said Pirelli’s Aston Martin team and Red Bull Racing had both suffered a dip in performance following the introduction of revised F1 tires for the Silverstone race.
Pirelli’s modified new tires were originally developed for the 2024 season, but as the teams made progress in aerodynamics and the downforce level continued to increase, they accelerated their pace on the weekend of the British GP race and introduced new tires with a stronger structure without wanting to increase the minimum tire pressure.
While it was generally agreed in the paddock that the move hadn’t had a big impact on the position on the field, Alonso was convinced it had an impact on the Aston Martin team. The two-time world champion said: “We’re about a tenth of a second behind the McLaren team, so maybe it’s not as bad as it looks. But yes, there is no doubt that we have regressed in the past few races, while the other teams have improved.”
“It’s also a coincidence that when the new Pirelli tires came out at Silverstone some teams struggled more and some teams were very happy with their cars.”
“It’s not just us. I believe the new tires have also had an impact on the Red Bull team. Before, they were first or second in every qualifying session, and they were also first or second in the official race. Now they can’t even get pole position.”
“Checo was struggling to finish in the top 10 and at Silverstone I think Max was actually only three seconds ahead of Lando, so I think it’s been a little bit out of the ordinary from there on.”
Asked whether his opinion on the new tyres, whether he came to his conclusions from the stopwatch or the feel of the car, Alonso said: “It’s a bit of both, I think you can feel the slight difference that the new tyres make, but as I said sometimes it’s hard to be objective.”
“Obviously, our car hasn’t improved much compared to the main competitors. Now every team is introducing something new every race weekend, so it’s very easy to see which teams are bringing more and more new parts to the big races.”
“But if you look back at Red Bull’s form, they were first and second in every practice, qualifying and race, and now I think in practice this weekend they’re not in their usual position, and at Silverstone they were only three seconds ahead of Lando, and I think they’ve slipped a bit since then, that’s true.”
2023 Formula 1 Hungarian GP broadcast moments
July 23rd at 20:30 (Live on Weilai Sports Channel and Alda Sports Channel 1) official match
2023-07-23 00:43:12
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