Verstappen’s tyre management in 2023 was exemplary, with him having often been one of the last drivers to complete their first pit-stop.

Whilst being in the clean air in the lead would’ve made a difference, Verstappen was even able to look after his tyres when fighting through the field.

This is exactly what happened at the Miami Grand Prix where he started in ninth and opted to get going on the hardest compound, before nursing his tyres for 46/57 laps.

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Verstappen ended up winning at the Miami International Autodrome, which kick started his run of 10 consecutive victories.

Ferrari in particular really struggled to preserve their tyres early in the season, something which often cost them several places.

Sergio Perez is another and was often a second slower than Verstappen at certain circuits, a feat which Wolff believes must be down to “tyre grip”.

The Mexican driver is often one of the best on the grid at looking after his tyres, as is Lewis Hamilton.

Despite this, every driver except Verstappen failed to perform at a consistent level in 2023, with Wolff putting this down to the three-time World Champion having understood how to get the most out of Pirelli’s rubber.

READ: Lewis Hamilton makes worrying admission about losing his talent

“It’s difficult to comprehend that good drivers in various teams have these oscillations of performance,” Wolff said, as reported by The Mirror. “You’ve seen it this [in Abu Dhabi] with [Carlos] Sainz and [Charles] Leclerc, you’ve seen it with George and Lewis, Oscar [Piastri] and Lando [Norris].

“And the obvious one is Perez and Verstappen. Perez is not a second slower than Max. So, what is that? We have seen it swinging in both directions.

“So fundamentally, I think it’s all around the tyre grip. If you are able to have the car in a sweet spot, a stable platform that you start the work with the beginning of the weekend, then you can extract performance.

“I think if you’re not, there’s just no performance. You’re falling off the cliff, literally. So I have no explanation for that. I think the only one this year who has understood how to drive these tyres is Max.”

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The next round of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship will take place in Sin City, with the sport returning to Las Vegas for the first time since 1982.

For F1, there is an incredible amount riding on the event being successful, as they are promoting the Grand Prix themselves.

With part of the fast street circuit to consist of the iconic Vegas Strip, it’ll certainly be a spectacle like no other.

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It’ll have all the glitz and glamour of Monaco plus the addition of thousands of lights, as the race will take place at 10pm local time on the Saturday evening.

The Las Vegas GP will be the first race to take place on a Saturday since the 1985 South African Grand Prix.

It’s not just the new street track which marks a “big unknown” for the teams, drivers and for Pirelli, as forecasted cold temperatures will also present a huge challenge.

Whilst it won’t be the coldest race ever in F1, it’ll certainly be one of the chilliest seen in recent years.

The current FIA forecast predicts that the race will get underway when the temperature is just 12 degrees Celsius, something which will likely cause chaos.

Getting heat into the tyres will be extremely difficult because of the cool temperatures but also the fact that the circuit consists of predominantly fast straights.

There are very few areas where the drivers will be able to generate heat, an issue Pirelli have recognised, as they’re taking the three softest compounds to Vegas to try and help the drivers.

Those on the grid have admitted themselves that the Las Vegas GP will throw up several surprises for the fans, in what’ll be “quite difficult” conditions to manage.

“It is a step into the unknown, for everybody I believe,” Isola said, as reported by Crash.net.

READ: Rock band mocks F1 over lack of danger

“Las Vegas will be cold, it’s a street circuit. We decided to use the three softest compounds in the range to try to generate grip.

“I can imagine a lot of track evolution and very low grip.

“But it’s a big unknown. Fast track, long straights, high speed and all conditions that are quite difficult to manage.”

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Friday’s track action at the Lusail International Circuit was a windy and sandy affair, which saw drivers struggle to adapt to the low-grip new surface.

As a result, several drivers had lap times deleted for track limits, with Turns 5, 12 and 13 having been the worst of the bunch.

Turns 12 and 13 were particularly troublesome, due to the style of kerbs that have been fitted at the corner.

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It wasn’t until Pirelli put some tyres under a microscope following qualifying as per normal that they discovered some concerning “separation in the sidewall” of the tyres, something which the tyre manufacturer revealed wasn’t visible to the human eye.

The kerbs at Turns 12 and 13 were essentially causing microscopic tears on the tyres, a huge concern given that there were four tyre failures in Qatar two years ago.

To prevent the drivers going over the worrying kerbs, the circuit has been narrowed by 80cm at those corners, with paint having been used to essentially create a new edge of the track.

The decision was only made Saturday morning, with the FIA having released a statement ahead of the sprint shootout as to what’s caused the issues with all the available compounds of tyre.

“Following the standard analysis of tyres used during Free Practice 1 yesterday, in which tyres that have been used for approximately 20 laps are examined by Pirelli to check various safety parameters, a separation in the sidewall between the topping compound and the carcass cords on many of tyres that were checked was discovered.

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“It is the view of the FIA and Pirelli that a significant number of additional laps on these tyres could result in circumferential damage of the tyres with subsequent air loss, and tyres analysed with lower lap numbers showed a much-reduced extent of the issue.

“This issue has likely been caused by the high-frequency interference between the tyre sidewall and the 50mm ‘pyramid’ kerbs used extensively at this circuit, aggravated by the propensity to ride those kerbs.”

Track limits was still a huge issue in the sprint shootout; however, it was Oscar Piastri who stormed to P1 as McLaren locked out the front row.

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The Italian manufacturer’s current deal with F1 expires at the end of 2024, although head of Pirelli Motorsport Mario Isola has confirmed that the company have “presented” an offer to the sport’s bosses to extend their agreement.

Pirelli took over from Bridgestone as F1’s tyre supplier in 2011 and have since gone on to enjoy a relative amount of success.

The company have in many ways done too good of a job, given how often nowadays each driver only needs to pit once.

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Pirelli have ploughed millions into the sport and into their tyre development, whilst they’ve also been the main sponsor for several races.

There were some suggestions that Bridgestone were considering making an offer of their own to return to the sport, something which would result in a tyre war.

One thing that the sport’s tyre supplier from 2025 will have to do is design a tyre for the new power unit regulations in 2026, when the sport will enter its next era.

Isola is hopeful that their offer will be accepted by F1’s bosses, to continue supplying tyres to the pinnacle of motorsport and its junior categories.

“No news compared to the last time we spoke,” Isola said.

“We presented our offer. Obviously, the tender is quite complicated and there are a lot of details that must be discussed with F1 and with the FIA, with the teams.

“It is not only for Formula 1, but also for the support series, like Formula 2, Formula 3, and F1 Academy. So it’s quite a complex package. And I hope and I’m still positive for that.”

Interestingly, there is no deadline on the “commercial negotiations”, with the only deadline having been for any prospective tyre supplier to submit their technical documents.

“No. The only deadline was for us to present the technical specification, the technical document and for the FIA to tell us if we are an approved bidder, which happened a few months ago, and now the commercial negotiation has no deadline,” added Isola.

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Whilst there is no deadline, Horner believes it’ll be very difficult for the likes of Bridgestone to return, whilst hinting at the amount of money Pirelli are spending and offering the championship.

“It’s never too late,” Horner said. “It depends, as with all these… Pirelli is a great company and I’m sure in their tender they’ve offered generous terms to the promoter, to the teams. And you know, we’d love to…

“There’s many, many millions of reasons that we would love to continue with Pirelli,” he laughed.

“So, you know, they’re a great tyre company, they’ve given us a great service and hopefully there’s, as I say, several million reasons that that will continue.”

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Ocon gave his view that when full-wet tyres are required, it’s typically a sign that the race should be stopped, something he was correct about.

The race started in the dry for just over a minute, when a sudden heavy downpour saw some drivers pit at the end of the first lap for Intermediate tyres.

Ocon wasn’t one of those, as team-mate Pierre Gasly – who was ahead of him – pitted.

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He was forced to do an extra lap on his dry compound, something which saw him lose several places.

When heavy rain returned much later in the race, Ocon was again pitted after Gasly, with Alpine having fitted Ocon with the full wets.

He was the only driver to be fitted with the Extreme Wet tyre, something he immediately questioned when he was informed of the team’s decision.

Ocon was absolutely furious and shouted over the radio, “This is the worst decision guys, f***ing hell”.

He was also unhappy at the fact that the team didn’t have his tyres ready, something which cost him several points.

Ocon salvaged P10 in the end, whilst Gasly claimed a podium.

“First of all, congratulations to Pierre and his side of the garage,” Ocon said, as reported by Autosport.

“I think they’ve done a super job to bring the team the second podium this season. So, that’s very positive. And probably the only positive of this weekend.

“On my side, the car wasn’t feeling better. But we still fought hard enough from 16th to sixth, it was going super well, [we] took risks. There were some big battles out there, and I always managed to make my way through, so that was really good.

“But unfortunately, we let these points just slip away at the end. I wasn’t happy with the call of the full wets. But also we boxed one lap too late.

“The tyres were not ready in the garage for me to box at the lap that I asked on the radio. So I had to stay out on slicks when it was wet and lost five positions. So went from sixth to eleventh.”

Ocon went on to criticise the full-wet tyre, something several drivers have done this season.

A general complaint has been that the tyre is too slow, making drivers not want to use it.

READ: Christian Horner breaks silence on controversial decision

“No, it was not the right tyre at any moment. First, when you have a Red Bull, you have some margin in the front. We don’t have any margin,” Ocon said, when asked by Autosport if Red Bull fitting the Extreme Wets showed that they were the correct tyre at the time.

“And the second thing is, if you have to put the full wets, it’s a red flag. And it happened.

“There is no point at any point where the full wet is a better tyre because it’s slower. And if it’s the right condition for the full wets, it’s not the right condition to drive an F1 car.”

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The change was implemented during the British Grand Prix, aimed to address safety concerns on circuits with elevated speeds. 

However, it has had an impact on competitive landscape in Formula 1, prompting Alonso’s dissatisfaction.

The transition has had a notable impact on teams like Aston Martin and Red Bull, which were directly affected by the tyre adaptation, leading to an “abnormal” shift in the competitive pecking order, according to Alonso.

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Contemplating the broader implications of rule modifications mid-season, Alonso remarked, “I’m not a fan of changing the rules in the middle of a championship. 

“In sport, you know, you change the balls in the middle of the tennis tournament or something like that, and it’s what happens when we change tyres here, we change the rules in the middle of a F1 World Championship.”

Alonso alluded to the precedent of mid-season adjustments that have affected teams before, citing the technical directive issued by the FIA last year to mitigate the “proposing effect,” an intervention that hit Ferrari’s performance. 

During an interaction with the media, Alonso shared his perspective on managing the consequences of rule changes midway through a season. 

He acknowledged the uniform challenge encountered by all competitors, noting, “at the end of the day, is the same for everybody again, so we just need to understand the tyre the best we can, and hopefully extract the maximum.”

Up to this point, the fresh tyre construction has demonstrated robustness on high-speed tracks despite escalated downforce levels. 

Although Alonso recognised Pirelli achieved its aim, he emphasised the necessity for Aston Martin to engage in meticulous scrutiny of the modification impact on the sport.

“We’re still not 100 percent sure,” Alonso said.

“We need couple of races to confirm anything. 

READ: Carlos Sainz comments on his future at Ferrari amid struggles

“So far, they look very similar but we need to wait and see.”

Aston Martin has enjoyed a tale of two halves so far this season, kicking off the year with a number of podium finishes.

However, with the rise of Mercedes and McLaren, as well as the return of Ferrari, Aston Martin has dropped down the pecking order.

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This weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix has seen consistent heavy rain, yet the drivers have tried to avoid using the Extreme Wets.

The tyre has done excellently at reducing the amount of aquaplaning experienced by the drivers, but at a cost.

It’s been an extremely slow tyre to be on, as proven in the sprint race on Saturday.

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All the drivers started the race on the full wets but pitted in the opening two laps of green flag racing for the Intermediates.

The drivers have therefore called for Pirelli to make “some significant improvements” with the full wet tyre, given that nobody wants to use it even in dangerous conditions.

“I remember watching the old onboard videos of 2007 with [Felipe] Massa and [Robert] Kubica in Fuji,” George Russell said, as reported by BBC Sport. “So much water and still [able to] push flat out.

“I remember doing test days here in F3 on Michelin and Hankook and aquaplaning wasn’t really as thing.

“I appreciate we are doing over 200mph and it’s not straightforward, but there need to be some significant improvements.”

Charles Leclerc also insisted that “some work” must be done by Pirelli, with the tyre only being suitable for when the track has rivers across it.

“There’s some work that needs to be done because we’ve got extreme tyres that are really slow, but really good for [avoiding] aquaplaning, but we never drive in those conditions because of visibility,” Leclerc said.

READ: Daniel Ricciardo claims Formula 1 has gotten worse

“So whenever it’s driveable, we need to go on inters. It’s quite tricky at the moment. I think the extreme should be faster and closer to the inters so we run more on the extreme than the inters, basically.”

To the drivers relief, Pirelli are making improvements to the wet tyre, as revealed by Pirelli motorsport director Mario Isola.

“We already found an improvement with this wet compared to the old one,” Isola said. “But we still miss a little bit of performance to have the right crossover with the intermediate.”

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Russell has tested Pirelli’s proposed 2024 tyres recently in Barcelona following the Spanish Grand Prix, whilst he also tested the rubber ahead of the season in Jerez.

Both tests were completed without tyre blankets, for Pirelli to gather data ahead of their proposed introduction for next season.

Russell, who is also a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, is “very concerned” that not using tyre blankets will cause a lot of “crashes”, due to how low the grip is when the track temperature is cool.

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He’s also not happy with mechanics being in the pit-lane with tyres which haven’t been heated, again due to how little grip drivers will initially have.

“I don’t think we as a sport are at a position yet to bring these tyres into a racing scenario,” Russell said.

“I would be very concerned for all the mechanics in the pit lane during a pitstop, I’d be very concerned for the out lap from a race in cold conditions.

“There will be crashes, I have no doubt about it. And I think there’s a lot of work, expense, and development going into these tyres. I feel like that could be put elsewhere.”

Two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso has also criticised the idea of scrapping tyre blankets, with him not understanding the “reason why” it’s being pushed for in the first place.

READ: Formula 1 makes rule change after incident involving Neymar and Chelsea stars

Alonso does have experience of not using tyre blankets when he’s competed at the Indy 500; however, he admitted that it’s a completely different situation given that the tyres “immediately” have a lot of energy put into them.

“Indy, I think you put a lot of energy in the tyres immediately and it was fine,” Alonso said.

“At places like Monaco, or some others…I’m not a big fan of removing the blankets, to be honest, and I don’t see the reason why.”

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Pirelli’s blanket-free tyres have been tested multiple times this season in preparation for their potential introduction next year, with Russell having trialled them last week after the Spanish Grand Prix.

Mercedes and Ferrari took part in a Pirelli tyre test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last week, where he admits the tyres quickly performed at a “respectable level”.

However, the 25-year-old is concerned over how blanket-free tyres would perform at venues with lower track temperatures, given that it was an incredibly hot day during the test last week.

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Russell also trialled the tyres ahead of the season in Jerez, where the track temp was 10 degrees.

In those conditions, the Mercedes driver believes the blanket-free tyres aren’t safe due to how little grip there is when exiting the pits, leaving him “concerned for all the mechanics”.

“In hindsight, it probably wasn’t tested in the right conditions at the right circuit,” Russell explained, as reported by F1i.com.

“I think if you go to a circuit such as Barcelona, which is quite an aggressive Tarmac, it was 40-odd degree track temperature, fully rubbered from the race weekend.

“The tyres were very sketchy coming out of the pit lane, but by about Turn 5 on the out lap, it was at a respectable level.

“But if I compare that in contrast with the start of the year, when I did one run in Jerez in 10-degree track temperature, it was extremely difficult getting out of the pits.

“And if I’m being totally honest, I don’t think we as a sport are at a position yet to bring these tyres into a racing scenario.

READ: Fernando Alonso mocks Ferrari

“I would be very concerned for all the mechanics in the pit lane during a pitstop, I’d be very concerned for the out lap from a race in cold conditions.

“There will be crashes, I have no doubt about it. And I think there’s a lot of work, expense, development going into these tyres. I feel like that could be put elsewhere.”

Pirelli’s blanket-less tyres will be tested again at Silverstone following the British Grand Prix, before a vote takes place at the end of July to decide whether they will be introduced in 2024 or not.

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Italian manufacturer Pirelli have been the sport’s tyre supplier since taking over from Bridgestone in 2011, with Bridgestone having been the sole supplier from 2007 to 2010.

Prior to 2007, Bridgestone had been in a tyre war with Michelin, something which could occur with Pirelli from as soon as 2025.

The FIA started the process earlier in the year of finding a tyre supplier from 2025 to 2027, with the possibility of extending a deal to 2028.

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Pirelli are believed to be very keen to extend their deal with the governing body; however, it does look like they’ll face stiff competition.

The deadline for applicants was May 15, with the FIA set to announce on June 16 who the sport’s tyre supplier will be from 2025 to 2027, following a review of all applicants by the World Automobile Federation.

It means an announcement will be made during the Canadian Grand Prix, which takes place next weekend.

This period would see a tyre manufacturer move into the new power unit regulations with the sport in 2026, something which could perhaps make Pirelli a favourable option.

Pirelli have only recently designed and introduced the new larger wheels for the new aerodynamic regulations, which were introduced last season.

Bridgestone are speculated as being Pirelli’s main competitor, with Eiichi Suzuki, Bridgestone’s manager of motorsport planning having recently revealed that the Japanese manufacturer are investigating how “Formula 1 can support” their current ambitions.

“We are always thinking about what and how to best our motorsport activities in global categories, including Formula 1 can support. There are investigations into this,” Suzuki said, as reported by Motorsprot-total.com.

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Despite Suzuki’s comments, Bridgestone are yet to officially confirm whether they are interested in rejoining F1 after being away for over a decade.

“Bridgestone has a heritage in motorsport for over 60 years and we will continue to pursue sustainable global motorsport activities,” a spokeswoman said.

“However, we refrain from commenting on specific categories.”

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