Aston Martin CEO Otmar Szafnauer has insisted that the team met Pirelli’s tire pressure requirements prior to the breakdown that caused Lance Stroll’s accident in Baku.
Stroll’s failure on lap 29 was the first of two tire problems for the drivers during the race who ended the race. Red Bull suffered a similar failure on Max Verstappen’s left rear tire later that afternoon.
Szafnauer said Aston Martin helped with Pirelli’s investigation and ruled out the possibility that their car contributed to the breakdowns.
“We worked with both the FIA and Pirelli to investigate the cause and we shared all the data, everything we have,” he said. “There was no car mistake at all, the car was perfectly fine. The tire did not rub, the sidewall did not rub. And we were within the given parameters that the FIA and Pirelli give us. “
Pirelli’s motorsport director Mario Isola said yesterday the failures occurred because Aston Martin and Red Bull tires were running at lower pressures than they expected. This created a “standing wave” in the sidewalls of the tires, which led to breakage.
Szafnauer said he was “surprised that this was the conclusion” and insisted that his team follow the tire usage restrictions that Pirelli had set before the race.
“We followed all the regulations to the letter and were never under the minimal pressure,” he said. “We had stabilized pressures, they were higher, that’s normal, that usually happens. And the tested loads on the grid were above the minimum.
“I don’t know what your expectations were, but I could imagine your expectations rising, and that’s exactly what happened to us.”
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When asked by RaceFans whether the Aston Martin tires were above the minimum pressure at all times, Szafnauer said: “We were always there, but during the safety car phases I think everyone is below it.”
Despite his surprise at Pirelli’s explanation for the failures, Szafnauer is confident that his team will pass new tests to comply with the tire usage restrictions introduced for the race this weekend.
“If the recipe or the rule is to go beyond a certain running pressure and stay there and have it at the end, that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” he said. “So we’ll follow that.”
The restrictions include the minimum starting pressures on the rear tires, which Pirelli has increased by 2 psi from the original level for the French Grand Prix.
“It looks like the pressure will be increased, it was also increased last weekend,” said Szafnauer. “We started with a different threshold on Friday and then it went up. When things went up we followed him. And when it goes up again, we will follow him. “
Stroll suffered another puncture at last year’s Tuscan Grand Prix in Mugello. Szafnauer said there was no connection between the two incidents.
“We had a significantly different car last year,” he explained. “The only constant is that we were well within the set parameters there, too.”
Formula 1 must take the flat tire in Baku seriously and make sure it is handled properly, added Szafnauer. “It is a real and serious problem that we need to get to grips with.
“I think we were lucky just damaging the car and not damaging anything else. We have to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“As I said, we will follow the new regulations and will always stay within the parameters that both the FIA and Pirelli have set for us.”
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French Grand Prix 2021
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