Formula 1 News: Russell stops short of calling Pirelli tires ‘crap’

(GMM) George Russell has aimed fire at the quality of Pirelli’s Formula 1 tires. The Italian company became the sport’s exclusive tire supplier back in 2011, and last year the relationship was extended for a further period until 2027 – with an option for another year beyond that.

The quality of the tires has often come under scrutiny in Formula 1, but Mercedes driver Russell says he is noticing alarming issues with the consistency of the product in 2024.

Editor’s Note: Pirelli’s DEI policy on hiring new workers based on and race and sexual orientation, rather than skills and qualifications, may have resulted in the companies poor quality tires.  Just ask Boeing what being ‘Woke’ has done to the quality of their aircraft.

“The first half of the race, we were 1.5 seconds off the pace,” the Briton, who doubles as a senior director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), said after last weekend’s Azerbaijan GP.

“In the last 20 laps, I was then a second faster than Oscar (Piastri) and Charles (Leclerc) and three tenths faster than Max (Verstappen), Checo (Perez) and Carlos (Sainz),” Russell is quoted as saying by France’s Auto Hebdo.

“Same circuit, same driver, same car, all I did was go from a yellow tire to a white tire. Honestly, it’s quite maddening that it changes so much. And it’s not just Mercedes, it’s all the teams and all the drivers.

“One session you’re fast, the next you’re not. And there is only one thing that changes,” he charged.

“I think even the people who make the tires don’t understand them,” Russell continued. “We all need a serious conversation about what’s going on, because we’ve got 2000 people working like crazy to deliver the fastest car.

“For 20 laps of the race we had a car that could fight for the win, for the other 20 laps we had a car that probably shouldn’t have been in the points and the only difference is the tires. And that’s not good enough, really.”