May 25 (GMM) The quest for pole position has lost its importance amid F1’s new spectacle of 2011.
That is the claim of veteran drivers Jarno Trulli and Rubens Barrichello, with the former claiming earlier this month that the strategy chaos caused by the Pirelli tyre situation has meant “the death of qualifying”.
“Now I can confirm it,” the Team Lotus driver wrote in his latest column for La Repubblica in the wake of the Spanish grand prix.
“The drivers are focusing more on saving a set of tyres than doing the fastest lap, and in the race the reason becomes clear.
“Who has more tyres, wins,” added Trulli.
Williams driver Barrichello agrees that the situation, with the Pirelli tyres degrading heavily and a big gap in performance between the compounds, is causing teams to radically re-think the importance of qualifying.
“Some big teams will be thinking seriously about using only hard tyres in qualifying, dropping to 16th or 17th, and having three sets of new soft tyres for the race,” the Brazilian is quoted by Agencia Estado.
“Depending on the track, that could be the best way,” added Barrichello.
