Pirelli stands ready to supply special ’qualifying tyres’ to formula one teams next year.
With the emphasis of the sport’s spectacle now relying on the complex and heavily degrading control tyres, it was the qualifying session that suffered last weekend in Barcelona.
Arguably to the detriment of Saturday’s spectacle, teams took an exceedingly strategic view of the fight for pole position, with some drivers sitting out the decisive ’Q3’ runout altogether.
One solution, according to Pirelli’s chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera, is the return of ’qualifying tyres’.
The proposal has been made following recent criticism, notably by seven time world champion Michael Schumacher, of Pirelli’s 2012 product.
Tronchetti defended his marque’s approach.
"What we have is many competitive cars, which is what the teams wanted — opprtunity for everyone who is able to win," he told Italian radio Rai GR Parlamento.
"So it’s fine if someone complains. We are available to the teams. We are ready to make qualifying tyres tomorrow.
"But they are choices that are not ours."