Laurent Mekies, F1 team Ferrari's director mentioned that Formula 1 teams will be doing a lot of "head scratching" to understand and put the F1 2021 Pirelli tyres to the best use.
Initially the tyre manufacturer and F1 tyre partner decided to stay with the current tyres for a third consecutive season however, due to the line of tyre blowouts they had to witness during the 2020 season, Pirelli developed new prototypes for the 2021 season.
Pirelli's tyre is much robust but is slower and has impacted the handling of the car which is why the drivers seemed to be upset after a trail of the new tyres in Bahrain. Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel where among the ones who preferred to go with the current compound rather than the new prototypes they tested in Bahrain.
Even after the huge criticism, team Mercedes' boss Toto Wolff had urged the F1 drivers to understand the situation saying that the new compounds is a necessity to cope up with the downforce levels that the new 2021 cars will present. Wolff stated that the 2021 F1 Pirelli Tyres will be a requirement as it would reduce the drivers and teams from facing further failures
Ferrari director Mekies agreed with Wolff that teams shouldn't have to worry about whether the tyres will hold up, but explained the new compounds will cause them a headache to put to good use and create a solid setup.
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"We know this tyre is done for better safety, the prototype tyre, so that's the way it is," Mekies said.
"We all want safety, we all want to push as hard as we can without having to be concerned about the tyre safety and I think that's what Pirelli has done.
"So yes, it comes with less grip, we don't like less grip, but if it's the price one has to pay to get it, then I'm sure it's fine.
"Now the tricky bit with these tyres is that yes, they have less grip but they also come with balance shifts through the corners and it's probably going to mean quite a bit of head scratching over the winter to see how best to go about it."
The reason for the criticisms from drivers was because the drivers found the 2021 F1 Pirelli tyres causing understeer when they were provided for testing in Bahrain. The tyres also caused overheating issues which made the drivers more upset and worried.
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In this situation, the teams only way to provide a solid car would be by introducing new setups for 2021 cars which are basically the same cars carried out from the 2020 season. This means that the cars must adapt to the new F1 2021 Pirelli tyres.
"It's not just less grip, its characteristics are quite different," Mekies added.
"And how to best support our drivers in dealing with that is going to be a topic, which I guess is good for the short run next year, in a way that there will be a new parameter in the equation of the ranking next year."
