Pirelli: Lotus regrets the changes announced for Canada

Faced with criticism and friendly pressure from Red Bull and Mercedes, with Paul Hembery having been seen in deep discussion with Niki Lauda and Dietrich Mateschitz during the Spanish Grand Prix, Pirelli has announced significant changes to its tires for the Canadian Grand Prix.

If this announcement made some people happy, whether in the paddock or among viewers, it is far from unanimous, especially among the teams that best adapted to the tires. Interviewed by Julien Fébreau for the show *Les Spécialistes F1*, broadcast on *Canal+ Sport* on Wednesday, Eric Boullier, director of the Lotus team, regrets the mid-season rule change: Some teams, not to be named, would indeed like such changes because it might help them in their overall performance quest for the season. Unlike perhaps Red Bull, which bases its car development policy solely on aerodynamics, we were among the teams, like Ferrari, that considered the Pirelli tire parameter in the car’s design since it is part of the weekend’s performance. So we are indeed a little disappointed by this change. I don’t know many sports where… like in football, the goal size is increased during the season.

Invited on the show, Jérôme d’Ambrosio, the third driver of the British team, acknowledged that this decision penalized Lotus: “It’s a tough blow, obviously it’s not something that goes in our favor because we’ve worked on the car’s mechanics precisely to have a car that respects these tires, because it’s a factor we expected to face. […] A car is designed around regulations, a direction that the championship takes: tires are a parameter that is part of it. So, yes, it’s a bit of a shame for us now, but we won’t be able to go back on it, so we’ll have to make the most of the tires we can in Canada.”

And the Belgian added: « We learn from a young age, from when we start in karting, that there are data points that are the same for everyone and that we have to deal with it. The tire is the same for everyone. »