Team bosses don’t want Q3 tires
With a host of drivers opting out of qualifying's final segment this season to maintain fresh rubber for the race, the idea has been put forward that an extra set of tires should be given to those drivers who reach Q3 to encourage full participation. However, judging by the reaction of those team bosses who attended the Thursday press conference, it's an idea that will not be endorsed by the pitlane decision-makers.
Sauber CEO Monisha Kaltenborn said while the teams had chewed the fat on such an idea they had ultimately come to the conclusion that a tweak to the rules wasn't required.
"We've had many discussions I think amongst the teams in the last year about the tire situation and qualifying and we think the rule we have now is okay. We also wouldn't be supporting extra tires," she said.
"And I think even if you look at the statistics that the amount when teams do this strategy and don't go out in Q3 actually most of the teams have anyway been doing a lot more laps earlier [in qualifying]. So I don't think it would really change much for the viewer – that's what the figures at least say."
Mercedes Team Principal Ross Brawn also gave a cool response, suggesting that the teams electing to sit out the final stages of qualifying are teams that would, regardless of any rule tweak, be unable to compete for front-row positions.
"Even when some teams don't go out, we still have six or seven cars still competing hard for pole position," Brawn countered. "Those teams that don't go out have generally resigned themselves to the fact that they can cannot compete for those positions right at the front and I think that those teams being able to save their positions is in, some way, a compensation for their performance at the start of the race.
"It gives an opportunity for those teams in eighth or ninth place to save an extra set of tires and be stronger in the early part of the race. There's two sides to every coin."