Wolff: Pirelli has ‘impossible task’ to please all F1 teams

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says Pirelli has been given an “impossible task” to please all 10 Formula 1 teams after calls to revert back to its 2018 tyres.

Following Mercedes’ dominant start to the 2019 campaign - in which it has taken seven straight victories and recorded five one-two finishes - its rivals Ferrari and Red Bull have criticised Pirelli’s decision to introduce thinner gauge tyres for this year.

Both teams believe Mercedes has gained from the move by F1’s tyre supplier, with Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko leading lobbying to switch back to last year’s tyres.

“The fact is, every year we have new tyres from Pirelli,” Wolff said when asked to respond to Marko’s comments during the Canadian Grand Prix.

“Sometimes you manage to understand them quicker, sometimes you struggle more.

“But as fair competitors out there we need to make the best of what is being given to us, unless it becomes a safety issue - like we had in the past.

“Pirelli has been given an impossible task. We are telling them to give us tyres that degrade so strategies are exciting, but then when the tyres degrade people are asking for the tyres to last longer.

“So I think we need to protect and support Pirelli in their task to produce a tyre that hopefully suits everybody and this is just we are doing and not letting ourselves being distracted by voices that don’t matter.”

For a mid-season tyre switch to be put into action, seven of F1’s 10 teams must be in support of the move. Alternatively, the FIA can force through a change on safety grounds.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner addressed Marko’s comments, saying: "It has actually worked into their favour and puts them in a really nice window.

"It's for the rest of us to try to catch that up. The best thing would be if they went back to last year's tyres. You'd probably find nine teams quite happy with that but one team fairly unhappy with that.

"In the interest of entertainment in F1, that would be a noble thing of Pirelli to do."