Pirelli proposes qualifying tyres return
Saturday 13th August 2011
Formula One could see the return of qualifying tyres next season after Pirelli put forward the proposal to teams.
The use of special qualifying tyres, which are designed to provide maximum grip during a single 'flying lap' but degrade rapidly thereafter, came about during the 1980s before disappearing in 1991.
That was the last season Pirelli was previously involved in F1, with its withdrawal leaving Goodyear as sole supplier - the end of the 'tyre war' between the two also meaning the end of qualifying rubber. Bridgestone entered the sport in 1997 but by that time the FIA had declared qualifying tyres illegal.
With Pirelli now back in F1 as its sole supplier, the Italian manufacturer's motorsport boss Paul Hembery has suggested that qualifying tyres might make a return in an attempt to add more drama and spectacle to the Saturday session.
"We've put the idea of qualifying tyres to the teams and we will get their feedback," Hembery told Autosport.
"If they don't want to do it, we won't do it.
"It might be a step too far next year and too much for the teams to take on board, but it's something that we have offered."
At present, teams' running during qualifying can be limited by the dry-weather tyre allocation - three sets each of hard and soft compound rubber - that must also be used for the race.
The introduction of qualifying tyres would mean an end to the stipulation that the top-10 qualifiers would have to start the race on the same set of tyres they used to set their flying laps, with Pirelli also likely having to bring more rubber to races.
Credit: ESPN STAR (www.espnstar.com)
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