Facing Vettel’s criticism, Pirelli defends itself and is surprised by Ferrari’s tactics

Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s competition director, was very surprised by the strategy decided by Scuderia Ferrari’s engineers regarding Sebastian Vettel during the Grand Prix held this afternoon. As a reminder, the German driver stopped only once, on lap 14, to put on medium tires. Pushed to the limit by Romain Grosjean in the final laps to defend the podium, the right rear tire of his car couldn’t withstand the pressure, exploding just after Eau Rouge’s climb, at the beginning of the Kemmel straight, in the penultimate lap.

However, this bold strategy was personally validated by Maurizio Arrivabene, the Team Principal of the team. Contrary to Nico Rosberg’s puncture, caused by a cut on the right rear tire of the Mercedes, Paul Hembery believes that Sebastian Vettel’s stint exceeded the maximum lifespan recommended by Pirelli.

« Vettel’s tires were simply at the end of their life. As a result, from that moment on, and in every race in this situation, problems can occur with the car. » Although Hembery confirmed that Pirelli had calculated a maximum lifespan of 40 laps for these medium tires, he insists on the uncertain nature of the estimate, and that it should not be taken for granted due to changing race circumstances.

« We thought that the teams’ strategies were based on two or even three stops, which was indeed chosen by the majority of the teams » he defended himself against the pressing questions from the journalists on site.

Regarding Ferrari and their one-stop plan for Vettel, he simply responds: “We were surprised by such a strategy.” Even if this option could allow Vettel to finish well, on the podium: Hembery retorts: “It is indeed an easy option but it is not the most viable.”

« But if the race had lasted one lap less and he had finished on the podium, everyone would have said: it’s a genius strategy! So the margin was very slim. »

Then, regarding Vettel’s anger, who accuses Pirelli of shirking their responsibilities for the blowouts: Hembery states that it’s important to understand the reaction of a driver exiting his car, meaning that the words are spoken in the heat of the moment.

I will not say anything negative about it. With time, we will be able to have a meaningful discussion with him.

In any case, these are very sportsmanlike words from the senior official at Pirelli, who is playing the card of appeasement while the criticism continues to grow. But whatever happens, these events will not be in vain, and clarifications will be made between the manufacturer and the teams to ensure that such incidents do not occur again in the future. The safety of the drivers is at stake.