Fernando Alonso has articulated his concerns over the recent mid-season modification to tyre construction by Pirelli.
The change was implemented during the British Grand Prix, aimed to address safety concerns on circuits with elevated speeds.
However, it has had an impact on competitive landscape in Formula 1, prompting Alonso’s dissatisfaction.
The transition has had a notable impact on teams like Aston Martin and Red Bull, which were directly affected by the tyre adaptation, leading to an “abnormal” shift in the competitive pecking order, according to Alonso.
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Contemplating the broader implications of rule modifications mid-season, Alonso remarked, “I’m not a fan of changing the rules in the middle of a championship.
“In sport, you know, you change the balls in the middle of the tennis tournament or something like that, and it’s what happens when we change tyres here, we change the rules in the middle of a F1 World Championship.”
Alonso alluded to the precedent of mid-season adjustments that have affected teams before, citing the technical directive issued by the FIA last year to mitigate the “proposing effect,” an intervention that hit Ferrari’s performance.
During an interaction with the media, Alonso shared his perspective on managing the consequences of rule changes midway through a season.
He acknowledged the uniform challenge encountered by all competitors, noting, “at the end of the day, is the same for everybody again, so we just need to understand the tyre the best we can, and hopefully extract the maximum.”
Up to this point, the fresh tyre construction has demonstrated robustness on high-speed tracks despite escalated downforce levels.
Although Alonso recognised Pirelli achieved its aim, he emphasised the necessity for Aston Martin to engage in meticulous scrutiny of the modification impact on the sport.
“We’re still not 100 percent sure,” Alonso said.
“We need couple of races to confirm anything.
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“So far, they look very similar but we need to wait and see.”
Aston Martin has enjoyed a tale of two halves so far this season, kicking off the year with a number of podium finishes.
However, with the rise of Mercedes and McLaren, as well as the return of Ferrari, Aston Martin has dropped down the pecking order.