Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Drivers unite in push for quicker F1 tyres in 2017

F1 drivers have all agreed to lobby Pirelli for faster tyres in 2017, according to Grand Prix Drivers' Association [GPDA] chairman Alex Wurz.

New regulations are set to be introduced next year which will reduce lap times, thought they were recently watered down following concerns Pirelli would need to impose strict restrictions on tyre usage if it was not allowed to radically change their design. However, Wurz says the drivers within the GPDA have reached a unanimous agreement on what they would like to see from Pirelli in 2017.

Wurz told the BBC drivers want to see changes to the tyres which "allows them to push and extract everything possible from these extraordinary race cars again, because that's what F1 is about, the pinnacle of motor racing which we all love."

And Wurz added the drivers want to see Pirelli allowed to explore changes in order to give them more performance from the tyres.

"The drivers want to underline very clearly that they would love Pirelli to produce a tyre which goes faster around corners as well as being safe.

"If we get sticky tyres, we will have happy drivers, and happy drivers means authentic and honest performance, pure message for the product and driving the cars to the maximum.

"That's what we want and, according to the fan survey we did last year, what all the fans expect."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.