Pirelli explains why rejecting Alternative Tire Allocation in 2024 is a “missed opportunity” for F1. Mario Isola criticized the decision not to continue with Alternative Tyre Allocation.

Mario Isola criticized the decision not to continue with the use of hard tires in Q1, mediums in Q2, and softs in Q3, as tested in 2 GPs in 2023.

What is the alternative tire allocation?

To make qualifying more interesting, in 2023 Formula 1 experimented with the so-called ‘alternative allocation’ of tires in two race weekends, the Hungarian Grand Prix and the Italian Grand Prix.

Drivers were required to use only the hard compound in Q1, then switch to the medium in Q2, and finish with the soft in Q3. The aim of the show also aligned with the need to improve sustainability, with a reduced number of tire sets brought to the track by Pirelli.

Rejection for 2024

The F1 Commission in late November decided to eliminate all the regulatory parts related to the alternative allocation, effectively rejecting it after the experiment lasted only two qualifying sessions.

Mario Isola, Pirelli’s motorsport chief, expressed his views on this matter to GP Racing: “I believe we missed an opportunity. We worked long with the team sporting directors, the FIA, and F1 to find a way to reduce the number of tires without affecting strategies or the spectacle and without reducing mileage on the track.” The Italian then concluded: “We tested the alternative allocation in 2 events, and the result was good; the qualifying sessions were exciting for me as a spectator. The decision to abandon this format, for me, was not the correct one, especially if the direction for the future is to reduce the championship’s carbon footprint.”