Bernie Ecclestone met with Formula 1 drivers on Friday in the Monza paddock and asked them to avoid public criticism of tyre supplier Pirelli, following two major failures at the last race in Belgium.
Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel both suffered high-speed punctures a fortnight ago, leading both to heavily criticise the supplier, whilst the latter called Pirelli’s explanations “bulls**t”.
Pirelli’s Paul Hembery met privately with Vettel last week to discuss the findings of their detailed examination and on Friday spoke with drivers and team bosses from all teams during a meeting with Ecclestone, who asked them to refrain from public slating.
“They’ve been asked to do it in the right environment, which is in the teams and with us,” explained Hembery. “They should express their opinions in the right manner.
“Other things happen in the sport and they don’t offer an opinion, so it just needs to be balanced.”
Meanwhile the Britain added that discussions surrounding testing also took place.
“It was to find a way, if we’re to stay in Formula 1, to have a much better working relationship and collaboration with all the parties in the sport,” he said.
“You can’t go to 2017 with a dramatic change in tyre widths with the current regulations saying you can’t test.”
