Sainz: F1 tyre rules in Hungary made weekend ‘dull and boring’

Carlos Sainz says the new tyre regulations that were in place at the Hungarian Grand Prix made the weekend “very dull and very boring”.

As part of Pirelli’s Alternative Tyre Allocation, all Formula 1 drivers had just 11 sets of dry weather tyres at their disposal, instead of the 13 that are usually delivered for each race weekend.

In addition, during qualifying only the Hard tyre could be used for Q1, the Medium was mandated for Q2 while the Soft compound was in play for the final Q3 segment.

However, drivers complained about a lack of on-track time during Friday practice due to having fewer tyres.

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“I find it [the tyre rules] interesting for qualifying,” Sainz said. “For the rest of the weekend, very dull and very boring. 

“We arrive here on a Wednesday to prepare everything and then on Friday you spend more time in the garage than running because we have no tyres. 

“So why even bother doing two one hour practice sessions if you don’t have tyres to run? 

“Or why even having Friday, if you have no tyres to run on them, to learn from the car, the track and put on a show for the fans. 

“So definitely something needs reviewing, either the format or the tyre allocation. The two at the same time, it’s like you’re not doing one thing or the other.”

It was highlighted to Sainz that Pirelli introduced the regulation to improve sustainability measures.

“It could be for sustainability,” he replied. “But at the same time, there are four sets of inters, three sets of wets that we don’t even touch in the whole weekend sometimes. 

“Those are seven tyres times 20 teams. There’s other things also to look at. Also, if you want cars to run for the fans, I think it’s something you need to put into consideration.”

However, this point was dismissed by Pirelli’s Head of F1, Mario Isola.

“For the European events, we keep the tyres fitted on rims, and we carry over the tyres that are new,” he told Autosport. 

“So we supply the teams with the same sets [as previous races].

“For overseas events, it is more complicated because the rims have to travel with the teams, while the tyres have to go with us for customs reasons.”