In light of the British Grand Prix tyre incidents, the FIA has given the go ahead to Pirelli to conduct two 3-day tests to get their tyre specification up to safe racing standards.
At the British Grand Prix, there were four instances of left-rear tyre bursts. The first victim was race leader Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes. Next, Felipe Massa in his Ferrari lost his left-rear while taking a corner at speed. Jean Eric Vergne in his Toro Rosso was the third victim; the one which got out the safety car for unsafe tyres as well as debris on the track; rubber flying around is bad enough, but when it occurs in the high speed sections, it becomes a major safety hazard. Even after the teams were advised to bump up tyre pressure by 2 psi and stay off the kerbs, there was a fourth incident. Sergio Perez too, in his McLaren, suffered a left-rear tyre burst. The damage to his car’s floor was so critical, he had to be retired from the race.
It has not been confirmed when the tests would take place, but it would be within the next few weeks. A possibility is that the Young Driver Tests at Silverstone will make way for these tyres tests, so that they can be done with as soon as possible.
