Controversy again over at Pirelli: Pirelli has been forced to defend the safety record of it's Formula 1 tyres again today after a dramatic blowout in testing at the Bahrain circuit lead to Nico Rosberg spinning out of control in his Mercedes. Whilst speeding down the straight of the circuit at an e...
Controversy again over at Pirelli: Pirelli has been forced to defend the safety record of it's Formula 1 tyres again today after a dramatic blowout in testing at the Bahrain circuit lead to Nico Rosberg spinning out of control in his Mercedes. Whilst speeding down the straight of the circuit at an eye watering speed of 320km/h, the German suffered a blowout causing him to fly into a spin, leading to him later hinting that he would need to get some toilet paper now. The Mercedes driver was also quick to delete his tweet regarding the episode in which he claimed that his tyre had blown up without prior warning. 
After a troubled season as Formula 1's official tyre supplier, the Italian team managed to convince the sports governing body that unless it was allowed to test further both during the season and throughout the winter months it's hands would remain tied over the issues. For some this latest incident will be an unwelcome reminder of the problems suffered by Pirelli throughout the 2013 season which culminated in some dramatic mid season changes to the tyres supplied by the Italian giants after an incident packed race at Silverstone in July. However, for many this latest incident will simply serve as justification for Pirelli's protests, hopefully with most not reading too much in to the events with regards to next seasons tyres; after all this is surely what testing is for, right? Pirelli have certainly taken this view, coming fast out of the blocks in defense of their tyres, with the following tweet. "...Incidents can happen, this is what testing is for. Our testing programme will continue as planned." It won't continue with the use of the Mercedes as part of it's winter testing schedule as the car was too badly damaged in the crash for the team to continue. It's difficult for anyone not to feel sorry for the Italian tyre manufacturer with Pirelli enjoying a torrid time since becoming the sports official tyre supplier 2 seasons ago. Tasked with producing a fast degrading rubber in order to increase the level of competition and introduce a different dynamic to the racing, teams have complained relentlessly. First they complained that the tyres were too unreliable, and then after a mid season change, some teams, in particular the likes of Ferrari protested that the new model was slowing them down and leading the drivers to focus more on tyre management than competition. Hopefully as a result of this off season testing Pirelli will be able to avoid some of the issues faced last season and manage their concerns surrounding the sweeping rule changes due to come in to force next season. (Pirelli are said to be worried about the increased torque in the turbo engines putting more severe pressure on the tyres.) 
After a troubled season as Formula 1's official tyre supplier, the Italian team managed to convince the sports governing body that unless it was allowed to test further both during the season and throughout the winter months it's hands would remain tied over the issues. For some this latest incident will be an unwelcome reminder of the problems suffered by Pirelli throughout the 2013 season which culminated in some dramatic mid season changes to the tyres supplied by the Italian giants after an incident packed race at Silverstone in July. However, for many this latest incident will simply serve as justification for Pirelli's protests, hopefully with most not reading too much in to the events with regards to next seasons tyres; after all this is surely what testing is for, right? Pirelli have certainly taken this view, coming fast out of the blocks in defense of their tyres, with the following tweet. "...Incidents can happen, this is what testing is for. Our testing programme will continue as planned." It won't continue with the use of the Mercedes as part of it's winter testing schedule as the car was too badly damaged in the crash for the team to continue. It's difficult for anyone not to feel sorry for the Italian tyre manufacturer with Pirelli enjoying a torrid time since becoming the sports official tyre supplier 2 seasons ago. Tasked with producing a fast degrading rubber in order to increase the level of competition and introduce a different dynamic to the racing, teams have complained relentlessly. First they complained that the tyres were too unreliable, and then after a mid season change, some teams, in particular the likes of Ferrari protested that the new model was slowing them down and leading the drivers to focus more on tyre management than competition. Hopefully as a result of this off season testing Pirelli will be able to avoid some of the issues faced last season and manage their concerns surrounding the sweeping rule changes due to come in to force next season. (Pirelli are said to be worried about the increased torque in the turbo engines putting more severe pressure on the tyres.)