The FIA has halted proposed plans by tyre supplier Pirelli, which would have seen changes made to all four slick compounds to reduce the number of pitstops.
The Italian company had hoped to make the 2013 compounds more closely match those from 2012, following pressure from Red Bull and Mercedes over the high wear they were experiencing – which lead to an average of four stops at the Spanish Grand Prix.
However, as reported by The F1 Times, Article 12.6.3 of the technical regulations state that no changes can be made without the consent of all 11 teams.
The only way around the rule, is to make changes in light of safety concerns, which must be agreed with the governing body.
It’s believed the FIA has spoken with Pirelli and requested any changes made to the tyre compounds be done to improve safety only – following a spate of delaminations.
The governing body has made it clear that any changes made cannot influence the rate of wear, nor the number of stops per race. As such, the proposed changes will be scaled back significantly.
The news will come as a blow to both Red Bull and Mercedes, but is a small victory for Lotus and Ferrari, both of which had criticised the decision to alter the compounds.
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