After the race-ending incidents of Lance Stroll and Max Verstappen during the Azerbaijan GP in Baku and Pirelli concluding its investigation on what the causes were for the sudden explosion of the involved cars’ tyres, the supplier released a statement implying that even though all the specific regulations were followed by the teams, the reasons behind the failures on the white Pirellis could rely on the way the teams manage the run of the compounds.

Now, at short notice of the conflicting statement made by Pirelli, were announced the measurements the Italians and the FIA agreed altogether with the F1 teams to check on how the temperatures and pressure of the tyres are regulated in the new revised and expanded directive TD003, according to RaceFans.net. It will come into force this weekend at the French Grand Prix. Some of the most noteworthy picks are:

→ It is the total responsibility of the teams to ensure they remain within the limits set by Pirelli at all times.
→ Teams are totally forbidden from cooling the tyres after their minimum starting pressures have been checked by the FIA before the race.
→ Teams will not delay the departure of their cars from the pits after their tyre blankets have been removed more than half a minute.
→ Any team whose tyres are found to be under-inflated will be required to increase the pressures.
→ Cold pressure checks will be severely made on the compound each driver uses to set their quickest lap time in the latest session of qualifying they get to. (Includes now Sprint Qualifying Races)
→ Teams may not alter the composition of the gas in the tyres to achieve different pressure levels when the cars are running on the track.
→ Teams will not heat tyres during sessions and do not run them on the cars, repetitively.

Some points now may be a consequence of a remark Lewis Hamilton made to SkyF1 in the Monaco GP weekend in which he noted: “We were supposed to all keep our blankets on in qualifying, Red Bull were allowed to take theirs off, and no-one else is allowed to. So I think we just need to make sure it’s consistent for everyone.”

About this, the FIA Technical Directive states: “The removal of any blankets when the tyres are not yet fitted on the car, their untimely removal with the tyres fitted on the car, or delaying the release of a car from the garage for no valid reason with the tyre blankets removed will be considered as a way to cool the tyres. Teams will need to justify a valid reason for any delayed release of over 30 seconds or frequent delayed release.”

Violation of any of the restrictions may lead to a team being reported to the stewards.

Even though the official final statement regarding the investigation by Pirelli did little to clear the ambiguous path to the real causes of what could have been much worse accidents on track at Baku last championship’ round, the new checks, apparently done to keep a severe eye on some tricks the title challengers might have mastered, could lead the way to the truth of why did the hard Pirellis really blew-up. Aston Martin and Red Bull had stated they will follow all the decisions on the new protocols added to the usual race weekend procedures.

Statement from Aston Martin Cognizant F1™ Team following the conclusion of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix incident investigation. ⬇️

— Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) June 16, 2021