Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli is considering dropping the 'hard' tyre from its range this season following driver complaints that it is unsuitable for racing on because it provides little grip.
Pirelli will meet on Monday at its Milan headquarters to discuss dropping the compound – the hardest in its range – which will also mean adjusting its choice of tyres for the British Grand Prix in mid-July, which is the next event where the hard tyre is scheduled to make an appearance.
"I think the hard tyre here [in Spain] is a joke, nobody will use it, just in FP1, but not after I don’t think," commented Felipe Massa at the weekend.
Indeed, it made no appearance in the race on Sunday as drivers opted for the two softest compounds available in the medium and soft, with the former proving very durable.
Force India's Esteban Ocon believes Pirelli are being too conservative with their choices: "Terrible," he said. "No-one's going to use them to be honest.
"We drove here with ultrasofts with no problem, so for sure they’re going to be too hard and it’s going to be difficult for everyone."
Teams must submit their allocation for the British GP later this week – whereby they are given the choice about how many of each compound they want from a specified selection of three, which is currently the hard, medium and soft – but Pirelli has agreed to delay that deadline slightly as it decided whether to drop the hard and instead make the medium the hardest in its range.
That would likely mean a choice of the medium, soft and supersoft for Silverstone.
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