Pirelli expected more grip from Istanbul Park circuit

Pirelli boss Mario Isola has admitted that the Italian tyre manufacturer brought the wrong compounds to Turkey. On Friday the track looked more like an ice rink and almost all drivers had trouble keeping their car on the track.

New tarmac

"We have a level of grip that is lower than expected," Isola explained at the FIA press conference. "When we selected the tyres, we didn’t know about this idea of the circuit resurface, all the track, so the characteristics of the new tarmac are different from the old one."

According to Isola, this was also the reason for taking the three hardest compounds to Istanbul Park. "It’s a bit challenging for drivers but they’re all the same tyres and at the end they have to work with what they have."

Grip will improve

Nevertheless, Isola thinks that the grip level of the track should improve a lot as each session passes. "About the rest, probably the level of grip will increase. We don’t have support events here so obviously the level of rubber we are able to put down on track is less than usual and this is another element they have to consider in strategies and track evolution."