Pirelli increases tyre pressure after tricky free practice in Istanbul

After the free practice sessions on Friday, many drivers complained about a lack of grip. No other circuit this season would have had such a lack of grip. The new track surface was seen as a big culprit, although some drivers also thought that Pirelli would have been better off with softer tyres.

Pirelli, however, had his own problems. For them too, Istanbul Park is virtually new, so they had to estimate the correct tyre pressure for this race on the basis of limited information. After the free practice sessions Pirelli has now adjusted it. As of Saturday the tyre pressure for all tyres will go up by one psi. This also applies to the rain tyres.

Tyres were under strain

"We decided to increase the pressures a little just because from yesterday’s telemetry we noticed quite high loads, even if the level of grip was low. If over the weekend the grip will improve, which is possible, the loads will also increase,” said a Pirelli spokesperson to Motorsport.com.

So even without the high cornering speeds that the cars could reach in ideal conditions, the Pirelli tyres became a little too much. However, the chance that they would run this risk today is extremely small.