The Official Azerbaijan Grand Prix Thread

In a technical directive sent to teams ahead of the Paul Ricard race, the FIA reminded teams that it was their responsibility to ensure that the running pressure of tyres were above those stipulated in the prescriptions laid down by Pirelli.

However, it was accepted that there was no way to currently police the running pressures in a reliable way because tyres cannot be checked when the car is out on track.

While teams do have their own sensors and data to monitor tyre pressures, such systems are not reliable enough and the data not robust enough to be established evidence for rule breaches.

So in a bid to confirm that teams are maintaining tyre pressures in a satisfactory way, tyres will now be checked after they have been run on cars.

Sets will be selected at random from practice and qualifying sessions, while every race set will be checked after they have been used.

Tyres due to undergo testing will have seals added to ensure that teams cannot play around with the pressures prior to the checks. No re-inflation of the tyre will be allowed.

The FIA has laid out procedures for the cold pressure checks and they must fall in line with a Pirelli figure that it believes the tyres should be left at when cold.

If faulty valves are found or other problems discovered that leads to an unsatisfactory check, then a reheat check will be allowed.

The FIA makes clear that any team found to have been running tyres that are found after the race to be under the pressure laid out by Pirelli will be reported to the stewards.

Further checks with Infrared cameras are also being introduced on tyre temperatures to ensure teams are not overheating them in their blankets in a bid to get the pressures up prior to the pre-running checks.

Where previously teams only had to comply with the minimum starting pressures of tyres, now the need to pass the post-running checks means that they will not be able to use tyres consistently below Pirelli’s guidance figures. This is especially crucial in races where tyres are run over a longer distance, so there is greater scope to play around in lowering pressures.