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Formula 1 Belgian GP
Pirelli keeps tyre pressure limits unchanged despite driver complaints
Pirelli has decided to keep the minimum tyre pressures unchanged for the Belgian Grand Prix, despite complaints from drivers.
Jonathan Noble
Edited: May 5, 2021, 4:32 PM
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As is normal, Pirelli has laid down limits to teams in a bid to ensure that there is no risk of tyres suffering a failure as a result of being run with too low a pressure.
With Spa-Francorchamps being one of the toughest tracks of the seasons for tyres, the limits for this weekend are 23.5 Psi at the front and 22 Psi at the rear.
Those figures left a number of drivers frustrated, however, with Felipe Massa calling them a 'joke' following running on Friday.
“I've never run such a high tyre pressure, like we have [right now], in my whole career,” he said. “And this is a bit of a joke to be honest.
"I would say everybody is struggling. I'm guessing I'm not the only one who has such a high tyre pressure. The car is just completely not on the ground."
But despite the complaints, Pirelli's analysis of tyre data following Friday running left it convinced that the levels it had laid down originally were correct.
The only change it has made is to tweak the front EOS camber from -3.50 degrees, to -3.25 degrees.
Pirelli's F1 racing manager Mario Isola made it clear that teams should not have been surprised at the high pressure levels for this weekend as it informed them of the plan before the season started.
“I have to say, it was not a surprise for teams to have this kind of pressure here,” he said. “At the beginning of the year we decided to take some representative high-energy circuits, and one of these was Spa.
“They knew already in February that the plan for Spa was to have around 23-24 Psi, and 22 rear. So it was not a surprise.
"Originally it was going to be 24 Psi and we went down to 23.5 Psi. It is not a big difference but it was not higher than expected.”
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