Hamilton: Pirelli tyres hurting pure racing

Lewis Hamilton has joined in criticising this year’s Pirelli rubber, saying it has made F1 ‘more strategic rather than pure speed racing’…

Lewis Hamilton has joined in criticising this year’s Pirelli rubber, saying it has made F1 ‘more strategic rather than pure speed racing’.

The Pirelli tyres have been the talk of the paddock this season as the rubber has proven to suffer from high degradation after the Italian manufacturer opted for a more aggressive approach.

Pirelli, though, may have gone too aggressive according to several drivers.

Following on from Red Bulls’ complaints in Malaysia, Hamilton, who finished third at the Sepang circuit, gave his opinion – and it is not at all favourable.

“These tyres make it very hard, very difficult to make them last,” he said. “It’s not fun, I didn’t enjoy the race.

“It’s not the same as back in the day when you had stints where you are pushing to the maximum the whole time, you had tyres that would last.

“Now you’re just… it’s like you have a hundred dollars and you have to spend it wisely over a period of time.

“It makes racing a lot different. It’s more strategic rather than pure speed racing.”