F1 Teams set to vote on 2020 Pirelli tires

Teams tested the 2020 tires in Austin and deemed them junk

(GMM) F1 teams will vote on December 9 about whether to keep or scrap Pirelli's proposed tires for 2020.

Drivers tested the 2020 tires recently in Austin, and complained that not only are they not better than this year's tires, but that they are notably worse.

So now, several teams want to simply keep racing with the 2019 tires.

"I find that a bit funny after all the complaints at the beginning of this season," Pirelli boss Mario Isola is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

"This tire cannot be as bad as some people said it was."

The teams will get an even more substantial opportunity to try the 2020 tires next week, at the post-grand prix Abu Dhabi test.

Then, on December 9, the teams will vote on whether to use the 2019 or 2020 tires next year.

Only the Haas team, which has struggled the most on the 2019 tires, is taking a strong position so far.

"We cannot make a fair conclusion after Austin alone," team boss Gunther Steiner said.

"We all agree that the 2019 tires were not good for the sport. There was too much discussion," he added. "Sometimes they were too cold, sometimes they were too hot. The drivers complain. No fan understands this.

"The new tires would have to be really bad for us to keep what we have now," said Steiner.

Moreover, Pirelli has warned that if the teams want to use the 2019 tires next year on the faster 2020 cars, then tire pressures will need to be raised.

Renault is apparently also leaning towards voting for the 2020 tires.

"If the amount of grip is lower but the tires overheat less and the working window is wider, that would be good for the racing," said Renault's Alan Permane.

Mercedes' Ron Meadows added: "For us, the differences in the (2019 and 2020) tires was not so big."