Red Bull reveal why they voted for 2018 tyres to return

Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan believes the spectacle of Formula 1 would improve if the decision was made to scrap the 2019 Pirelli tyres and return to the 2018 version.

Tyre management has been one of the talking points of the current campaign, with some teams happy with the current set-up and some wanting change. The 2019 version has a much thinner gauge than in 2018, meaning the newer tyres are more easily prone to quick wear and tear.

There was a recent vote after the Austrian Grand Prix on whether the 2018 tyres should be brought back, but, with a majority of seven out of 10 teams required to pass the vote, it didn’t happen as it was split right down the middle with five votes each.

Red Bull were one of the teams who voted for change, and Monaghan has provided reasoning as to why.

“It puts Pirelli in a slightly difficult position,” he said.

“They’re doing a decent job, they’re going to win every race, the tyres are surviving on the cars, and they’ve got to maintain their safety record.

“At the risk of being slightly controversial we would quite happily accept the 2018 tyres to come back. I don’t think the risk is as great as some perceive.

“It is about creating a show and I think we almost have to take a step back and take a slightly less team-centric position and turn around and say ‘well, if it would be better for the show, could the teams cope with it’ and our opinion is yes, we could.

Red Bull accept that there has not been a majority vote to change, but are happy to vent their opinion even in the minority.

“We accept there has been a majority vote not to do so but we hold a slightly different view to the majority then,” Monaghan added.

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