motorsports boss Mario Isola has responded to all the criticism from the drivers that the hypersoft tyre got after Friday’s Free Practice sessions, with the drivers complaining that the tyre wouldn’t hold up for a single hot lap.
The hypersoft is a new compound that was introduced this year. Recognized by the light pink strip on the tyre, the hypersoft is the softest blend out of all available tyres and is only available for the teams to use in a handful of Grands Prix.
Mexico is one of them, but it became apparent quite quickly during FP1 that they didn’t last as long as they usually do. With the high altitude of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the tyres degraded even quicker than normally. Brendon Hartley said on team radio that his tyres “are like bubble gum” when they were just 13 laps old, and Kevin Magnussen said the same thing after just eight laps; “My tyres are chewing gum,” the Dane told his race engineer at Haas.
Isola has responded to this criticism, saying that the teams and the drivers know what they’re getting into once they bolt on the hypersofts.
“We have similar criticism of what we received here a year ago in Mexico,” he was quoted by Speedweek.
“The tyres have degraded heavily. But people should not forget: The target for 2018 was to come out with with softer compounds.
“To be precise, the hypersoft tyre is two steps softer than the softest compound we had in 2017.”
Speaking on the extreme degradation of the hypers, Isola only thinks that teams should adjust their tactics rather than point all the fingers at Pirelli.
“If this trend continues, it has a direct impact on the racing strategies of the teams.
“Some teams will consider tuning the car so that it may not be as quick on a fast lap in qualifying, but allows for better, more consistent lap times in the Grand Prix.
“So far, the picture is not clear, the teams will need more experience from the third Free Practice.”
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