Pirelli makes the tires, Ferrari uses them. Observing closely the overall picture of a Formula 1 weekend, we realize that the Prancing Horse, compared to other teams, struggles immensely in managing the compounds. This is not limited to the 2023 racing campaign alone. We are talking about a rather troubled relationship between the parties that found their only point of agreement back in the distant 2013, before the “Silverstone revolution” that completely changed the dynamics of the championship.
At that time, the Chinese-owned manufacturer took the liberty to change the construction of the compounds. Without “asking for permission” from the teams, exploiting the safety clause, the measure completely dashed the hopes of success for two teams in particular: Ferrari and Lotus, the only cars that at the time proved capable of handling the “footwear” with finesse.
Years later, history repeats itself. And it does so, coincidentally, in the same scenario: the British Grand Prix. This time, the induced motivation concerns the unexpected leap in performance of the new generation cars in relation to the unexpected increase in vertical load on the current single-seaters. The change is not of huge proportions, and it should be noted that no driver has complained. The on-track values have not changed at all.
However, there are those who once again seem dissatisfied. The issue is not directly related to the recently made changes to the tires, but rather to the information provided by Pirelli regarding their 2023 product. These “usage indications” do not convince the historic Italian team at all, to the point where Fred Vasseur, without mincing words, candidly affirms it.
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Ferrari, Fred Vasseur points the finger: the blame lies with the tire supplier
The 675 project is not functioning as it should. Highlighting this fact may seem banal, but it is still necessary because blaming Pirelli for the mismanagement of the tires does not seem fair. However, there is an issue that cannot and should not go unnoticed. On the contrary, it needs to be emphasized: the various settings for tire usage suggested by the sole supplier are almost always incorrect.
The calculations regarding which compounds to use in order to achieve the fastest strategy during the race are based on the data provided by the teams. If the evidence collected by the teams is incorrect, it is unlikely that the analysis result will be accurate. While it remains to be understood where the blame lies within this context, the result is still unsatisfactory to anyone involved.
Every Sunday, a lot of news media outlets create a strategic preview, through which we can undoubtedly support the words of the team principal of Maranello. The manager from France argues that criticizing in hindsight is a “villainous” practice in its execution. This is because, basically, according to our understanding, if the number of available laps in a race for a specific compound does not correspond to reality, the briefings intended for tire strategy choices are heavily tainted by this aspect, as explained by F1 expert Alessandro Arcari for FUnoanalisitecnica.
Frederic Vasseur identifies one of the primary causes of the poor performance in England as the aforementioned aspect, combined with the presence of crosswinds that “disrupted” the vortex structure of the SF-23, causing aerodynamic imbalances. Despite the facts, it seems that the team principal of Ferrari is convinced that the Pirelli technicians themselves do not fully understand their own product, in relation to the load points imposed by the cars and the corresponding operating pressure during tire rolling.
Considering that, according to the Frenchman, the data provided by the teams is more than reliable, simplifying the concept, how can the engineers in the dynamic department responsible for tire management at Ferrari understand how to use the compounds if, as Fred Vasseur claims, the first misleading information about strategies comes from Pirelli itself? This is an important question and currently, pending further confirmation, it remains unanswered.
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