Bianchi Accident: Vettel and Hamilton Want Better Performing Rain Tires

The drivers wish to have more efficient tires for rain in order to race in better conditions. Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel have notably spoken on the subject, following, among other things, Jules Bianchi’s accident in Suzuka, where the Frenchman lost control of his car while he was on worn intermediates.

Hamilton confided, quoted by BBC Sport, that the tires provided by Pirelli for rain were not up to the mark and needed more attention: « These are not great tires. It’s no secret. There will always be spray, but we need to work hard. It’s an area we don’t always focus on enough. Slicks are constantly being improved, but there’s not much attention given to wet-weather tires. »

Even though the blue-banded tires have been improved compared to last season, it is not enough according to the Mercedes driver: « You want a tire that evacuates water. And that doesn’t force us to switch to intermediates just because they’re faster, even if it’s not the safe thing to do, so this is something on which the FIA and Pirelli will work, I think. »

Sebastian Vettel also spoke out, quoted by BBC Sport to highlight the inherent problem with Pirelli’s wet tires: “If you have a lot of water, you obviously need a tire that can also clear a lot of water in order to avoid aquaplaning. The problem we have is that the wet tire has a very narrow operating window.”

But according to the reigning four-time world champion, the difference in performance between intermediate and wet tires forces drivers to take risks: « The [intermediate tire] is faster, so as soon as you have cleared most of the water, you try to fit the intermediates, taking risks, just because it’s a faster tire. It’s a point we need to work on. »

Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, stated that improving rain tires was not seen as an urgent issue at the moment: « There have been comments from drivers that have not been made officially to us. Obviously, if the teams and the FIA request Pirelli to reconsider the technical capabilities of the rain tires, Pirelli will do so immediately. But for now, Pirelli does not see a realistic technical need to change these rain tires. »

But he added that even if these tires have been improved, going from 65 liters evacuated per second at 300 km/h compared to 50 a year earlier, the Milan firm was open to the idea of reviewing this compound if necessary: « There is a working group that will be set up quite quickly and it is more than likely that this will be discussed at that time. And if it is the case, we are open to the idea of modifying the tires. Every change we make has a deep technical basis and does not follow just one person’s comments, as everyone does not have the same vision. »