Trulli tells Autosprint: Pirelli F1 tyres “aren’t balanced yet”

Jarno Trulli, driving for the Lotus team in the 2011 Formula One season, has suggested that sole tyre supplier Pirelli’s PZero Formula One tyres have “[missed] something in development, because the tyres aren’t balanced yet.” While Pirelli has stated its satisfaction with the current tyre and the quicker wear-rate so far experienced is a deliberate feature to encourage more tactical tussling between the teams. However, veteran driver Trulli believes that: “tyre wear is secondary compared to the tyre's balance problems, because at the moment you get on the track with a new tyre that initially is understeering, and after three laps the behaviour is the opposite, that is impossible oversteering."

Trulli was careful not to blame the Italian tyre brand entirely, suggesting that the constant changing of Formula One rules and regulations was damaging the sport as a spectacle: “every change is a cost for the big audiences, the ones that watch on Sundays. A spectator can’t always be chasing the changing regulations, like refuelling, number of pit stops, F-duct and KERS. Can a spectator get passionate about KERS? People at home want to understand, and if we carry on changing the regulations every year we are just creating confusion.”

The Lotus driver, whose car crashed out due to a technical fault on the final day of testing in Barcelona on 21 February, also claimed that constant regulation changes are hindering the competitiveness of the teams outside the wealthier upper echelons of the sport: “My opinion is clear: there should be a discussion with all involved parties for one year, or even two if necessary, and then introduce a set of regulations that may well be revolutionary, but with many years of stability. Each change is a cost for the teams, and if the top teams can afford investments in the short term too, for the other teams it’s a financial drain.”

Related news:

• Low Barca temperatures led to different F1 tyre characteristics: Hembery
• Pirelli announces compounds for first four F1 races
• “Faultless” run for Pirelli at second F1 test