Blistering tyres took Pirelli by surprise in Austrian Grand Prix

Pirelli have admitted they were surprised to see their tyres blistering during the Austrian Grand Prix. The tyres behaved differently in the race compared to practice and qualifying with only higher temperatures to blame.

Carlos Sainz described his car as "undriveable" for the majority of the race. Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo both had to make an unplanned pitstop as the soft tyres blistered.

The race-winner, Max Verstappen managed his tyres well, as did the Ferrari drivers. However, the red team were forced to hold back likely protecting the tyres. Mario Isola, Pirelli F1 boss, said tyre blistering should be apart of the sport, but not in the extreme.

"On this track last year, we had some cases of blistering, so we believe that this track has the potential to cause it," he told Motorsport.

"On Sunday, it was completely different to Friday conditions, much higher [temperature], so different that it was really difficult to predict that situation."

Pirelli have reduced the tread depth for the British Grand Prix, as they did in Barcelona and Paul Ricard.

"It is important to evaluate the depth and whether they were superficial blisters or not," Isola added.

So Isola knew the tyres had blistering on the track from previous experiences but did nothing to change it or prevent it. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section below!