Red Bull billionaire and team owner Dietrich Mateschitz believes the tyre situation in Formula One has gone too far, claiming the sport is no longer about “classic racing”.
Pirelli have taken a step toward increasing the durability of its hard tyre, but has opted not to change its other compounds which, at some races, have failed to last longer than seven or eight laps.
Mateschitz isn’t happy about the situation despite having won half the races.
“Formula One no longer has anything to do with ‘classic’ racing,” the Mirror quote him as saying.
“Today, it’s not the fastest driver in the fastest car who wins, but the one with the optimum tyre management.
“We’ve even had to scale down our car, because the tyres were not lasting,” he added. “If we really went as fast as we can, we would need 10 to 15 pit stops.”
Meanwhile McLaren’s sporting director Sam Michael believes the sport is now playing into the hands of the more experieneced drivers, which he doesn’t believe to be a bad thing.
“If you look at China, the top five places were filled by five world champions – and that is not an accident,” he said. “It means right now it is a thinking man’s game.
“The top ten guys are all very fast in terms of talent, but what separates them is their experience and ability to cope with different situations.”
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