Schumi: Pirellis like ‘raw eggs’
The seven-time World Champion slammed the Italian manufacturer after last month's Bahrain Grand Prix, with Schumacher saying the current rate of tire degradation was such that drivers could not test either their own or their cars' limits.
Pirelli then hit back at the German, saying: "Formula 1 has always been a meritocracy; in the end the best engineers and drivers will always succeed".
Schumacher, though, is refusing to let the issue die down. Speaking ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, he told CNN: "I just think that they're playing a much too big effect because they are so peaky and so special that they don't put our cars or ourselves to the limit.
"We drive like on raw eggs and I don't want to stress the tires at all. Otherwise you just overdo it and you go nowhere."
However, Schumacher's dislike of Pirelli's current range of F1 rubber is not shared by Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
Speaking to Sky Sports News during last week's test session at Mugello, the Chinese Grand Prix winner said: "I don't think it is an issue, I think it's good.
"It's a challenge – it's a different challenge, about tire management. It's very interesting; it makes the racing fantastic also, a lot of overtaking thanks to that as well."
Teams will use Pirelli's soft and hard tires at the Circuit de Catalunya this weekend. Sky Sports