After the race weekend in Montmeló, after the change of tires with a smaller tread of 0.4 mm, many controversies were created around the performance of the Pirelli compounds. As we know, the Italian supplier didn’t have to obtain the consent of the majority of the teams to be able to make such a change, because that modification was made exclusively for security issues. After the two days of post-race test where both tire specifications were tested (in addition to an "all black experimental shoes") Mario Isola leaves his statements to clarify the matter and put the point on the situation.

“In March when we were here for pre-season testing, the level of blistering was high and we analyzed the issue and the solution was approved. We quickly manufactured this compound. These 2 days are important to confirm that this solution was successful.

“When we found the blistering, I contacted all the teams personally and we had to wait until Melbourne to understand if it was due to the tarmac or something different. I spoke to all the teams and I had different feedbacks, I explained what our plan was like and that the solution had been tested last year in our tyre development test. I also said that I was going to the FIA requesting to do this modification for 3 events, where we had new tarmac after we had measured the tarmac on these 3 circuits and we noted that the data were very similar.

“I’m happy that our solution’s success was confirmed by Sebastian yesterday and Ferrari. We have a lot of data coming from these 2 days of testing, we can also measure the tarmac at Paul Ricard and Silverstone again. When we re-measured this tarmac last Wednesday we detected a 12% increase in both micro and macro-roughness, so it is clear that new tarmacs suffer a rapid evolution. All analysis results will be shared with the FIA, but I think we are not going to modify anything for the next two races with modified tyres.

“We tested some prototypes, what we call hard back-up compound, which has been already homologated but was not tested enough last year especially because we had to cancel the test at Interlagos. The feedback on this compound was quite positive, which is important information for next year. Two teams are currently running a second car for our tyre development test, we are completing the run plan without any issues.

“We also have positive feedback on the Hypersoft, which is clearly too soft for this track and the performance is there for less than one lap, but it’s normal business for that tyre in Barcelona. It is confirmed that the level of grip on the Hypersoft is high, it’s a step compared to the Ultrasoft and now we are interested in seeing what the result will be Monaco, as this tyre is designed for street circuits.

The words of the Italian clearly summarized everything that happened clarifying the situation, therefore we can say that in a certain way we can close the controversy generated around this issue. We also expect further confirmation in the next Gran Prix where the modified tire will be reassembled, being able to have even more parameters to analyse the situation.