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While drivers have complained of tyre issues in Australia, this pales when compared to issues seen in 2013
While Pirelli clearly struggled at last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, no failures were seen. Wind back the clock ten years ago to Silverstone 2013, a very different story plays out.
Lando Norris’s comments on Pirelli’s tyre performance in Australia were damning, the British driver branding them “terrible”. But Pirelli has come a long way from 2013 when a variety of factors resulted in an explosive situation.
Pirelli was in the third year of its tyre supply to F1 in 2013, taking over from Bridgestone following its withdrawal in 2010. The company proved to be a breath of fresh air for the sport, focusing on producing tyres that degraded quickly.
The level of degradation improved the entertainment factor dramatically, with the racing a marked departure from previous years. Strategy now became key, with the fastest tyres significantly quicker than the next compound, but faster at degrading. Starting a race on soft tyres allowed a driver to pull away, but lose the lead once the tyres were past their peak.
Teams and drivers now had to tactically plan how and when to push the Pirelli rubber during races. Teams pushed the tyres to their limits to extract maximum performance. At Silverstone, this would have disastrous consequences.
Coming into Silverstone, Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull led the World Championship from Fernando Alonso and Ferrari. Red Bull would go on to dominate the latter part of 2013.
However, it would be Mercedes that would prove fastest in qualifying, locking out the front row, new recruit Lewis Hamilton taking pole at home from teammate Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton and Rosberg led away from the line, with Hamilton beginning to pull away from the field on his red soft tyres. However, disaster struck on lap 8.
At full speed down the Wellington straight, Hamilton suffered a left rear blowout. The tyre delaminated, forcing a deflated British driver back to the pits. Vettel took the lead after taking avoiding action. Hamilton rejoined the track in last place after an extended pit stop to check for damage.
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was next to suffer a tyre failure, his Pirelli soft tyres delaminating at Aintree corner. He pitted for an extended pit stop, falling to last place behind Hamilton.
Failures continued throughout the race. Jean-Eric Vergne’s Toro Rosso was next to suffer a failure. The tyre failed at 180mph, showering the track with debris, with both Lotus cars needing to take avoiding action. The resulting damage would prove terminal for the Frenchman, retiring after stopping for replacement tyres.
The Safety Car was deployed to restore order and to clean the myriad of debris now scattered along the Hangar Straight. Pirelli issued guidance to the teams to tell drivers to avoid the kerbs.
When the race restarted, the worst of the issues seemed to be over for Pirelli. However following another Safety Car to retrieve Vettel’s stricken Red Bull, Rosberg pitted for new tyres as data indicated the beginnings of tyre failure.
The most spectacular and dangerous tyre failure would fall to Sergio Perez in the McLaren. Alonso on one of his charges through the field moved to the right to line up a pass as the cars began to head down the hanger straight. The move proved most fortuitous, as the McLaren suffered a tyre blowout, instantly crippling the McLaren. Had Alonso moved out a second later, the consequences may have been catastrophic. Perez was an instant retirement.
Four tyres failed in total on race day at Silverstone. An investigation was launched immediately, with the tyre manufacturer tight-lipped about possible causes and next steps.
The 2013 British Grand Prix tyre failures were spectacular to watch from a fan’s perspective. But those involved in the sport and teams themselves knew just how dangerous these incidents truly were.  Failures of any kind are not an image Pirelli wanted to see, but given these occurred on F1 cars travelling at over 180mph in some instances, both an immediate solution as well as finding the culprit were vital as the next race was less than a week away.
Hamilton speaking after the race, reflected on his mindset as he felt his tyre fail on lap eight. Revealing that he “felt the danger” of the situation, the British driver said he considered stopping:
“That’s the first time in my whole career that I’ve felt the danger. I was thinking of stopping. I don’t know why I have to put my life at risk for these damn tyres.”
Initial causes touted included the kerbs. This was quickly dismissed by F1 legend Niki Lauda. As reported by Motorsport.com, the Austrian told RTL: “We have kerbs at every circuit and everyone drives over them. That’s what they’re there for. If the tyres cannot handle the kerbs, then you don’t change the kerbs, you change the tyres”.
Crisis meetings were held in the run-up to the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. Pirelli announced it would use a stronger material for rear tyres at this race. It would then switch to a new compound that combined elements of its 2012 tyres with the strength of the tyre for Germany from Hungary onwards.
Pirelli revealed the cause of the tyre failures following a substantive investigation. The failures could not be attributed to a single issue, but a combination of several factors.
As reported by the BBC at the time, Pirelli issued a statement defending its tyre, whilst also highlighting the impact of the teams in causing the crisis.  The company stated that the 2013 tyre”does not compromise driver safety in any way if used in the correct manner”, before highlighting areas the teams had been using the compounds incorrectly.
The company stated that the tyres had been run at pressures that were far too low. The reason behind this was simple: the tyres are lighter on the car, therefore improving efficiency. The tyres had also been fitted the wrong way around, and at an extreme angle in relation to the suspension (this is known as extreme camber). Fitting tyres on the wrong side of the car may seem bizarre today, but back in 2013, this was common practice due to the severe degradation of Pirelli’s rubber.
The company confirmed the tyres that blew out at Silverstone all had this combination of issues, and also added that it did not have full control of how its tyres were used. Given the dangerous scenario seen at Silverstone, Pirelli requested an FIA official check all tyres were not being underinflated.  F1 has yet to see a repeat of Silverstone 2013.
As challenging as the tyres of 2023 were to handle at Albert Park, Pirelli has and continues to do a phenomenal job to produce a variety of tyres. It learns from its mistakes and pushes to improve the offering of its product.
Criticism is nothing new in the high-stakes world of F1, no one is exempt from it, including Pirelli. The issues seen in Australia were nowhere near the same level as Silverstone 2013. But even in its nadir moment, it came out fighting.  It will do so again.
Feature Image Credit:@Tiametmarduk on Twitter
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