Reynard Gelderblom, Motorsport Editor of Streetmotion, sent us his perspective on the entire tyre debacle.

We’d love to hear your thoughts too! Let us know what you think in the comments below, or let us know if you’d like us to publish your opinion too.

Here’s what Reynard had to say:

I’m starting to feel like I’ve become a stuck record, but yet again the topic after the race is tyres. In fact, I’ve mentioned the name Pirelli so much during the 2013 season that I should start asking them to pay me for doing so.

With F1 moving back to a purpose-built racing circuit for the first time since Barcelona and the controversial ‘testgate’ scandal, everyone was waiting in anticipation to see what Mercedes would’ve gained. With the penalty for their part in this being nothing more than an eighth grade teacher telling you “If I catch you smoking behind the rugby pavilion again…”.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg ensured a Mercedes front row, but we’ve seen them strong in qualifying before this season. Soon after the start, Hamilton’s left rear tyre called it a day with what seemed to be a puncture and a dramatic delamination. One lap later Ferrari’s Felipe Massa’s left rear did the same at almost the same spot.

“Okay, debris on the circuit or something about that curb” is what we thought. A few laps later Jean-Eric Vergne’s left rear and our theory blew out at the end of a straight. After the first round of pitstops, Red Bull reported something that resembled cuts in the left rear tyre that came off Sebastian Vettel’s car. Then the news broke that the general talk in the paddock was that this might be caused by the heat generated on the faster straights. Near the end of the race, McLaren who already had a bad weekend, suffered another blow out with Sergio Perez.

Earlier in 2013, I said the FIA asked Pirelli to supply a tyre which won’t last till half race distance, but I don’t think that anyone wanted anything like what we’ve seen at Silverstone. This has taken the tyre concerns from being something for the teams to work around, to being something outright dangerous. After everything that has been said over the secret tests with Mercedes at Barcelona, you at least would think that 1 000km of testing with a 2013 car would’ve provided some valuable data for further development.

Shortly after the GP, Pirelli came out with a statement that the new bonding process is not to blame for this, although they themselves appear to be clueless for now on possible causes.

Or do they just prefer to remain quiet? The FIA still needs to announce the sole tyre supplier for 2014. Hankook is one of the names which have been mentioned, but there is speculation that the FIA would love to see Michelin back in F1 in the near future. However, despite no contract yet, changing tyre leftovers may prove to be a bit easier than changing a tyre supplier. The money and advertising aspect alone would provide Pirelli with enough grounds for a better day in court than at the races.

With only six months remaining in the 2013 season, there’s not nearly enough time to start a legitimate tender process and then still expect a manufacturer to come up with something which will be reliable. So the immediate future of Pirelli in F1 may not be as uncertain as we would like to think.

A suitable solution needs to be found though – and soon. With fast circuit races like the Belgium, Italian and Indian GPs coming up I’m sure I’m not the only one who wouldn’t like to see a repeat of what we saw at Silverstone.

Even the night race in Singapore features some fairly fast straights for a street circuit and the bumpy surface at the Brazilian GP with it’s fast main straight could be a genuine reason for concern.

Nor would I think anyone would like to see a repeat of the 2005 USA GP when teams participated in a strike action due to safety issues relating from tyres, but you have to ask: With drivers putting their lives on the line at more than 300km/h, and having to rely on the equipment they’ve been given – how far are we away from someone saying “I’m boxing this lap, these tyres are unsafe”?

An even worse thought – are we going to have to see someone die on a live TV broadcast before we start coming up with ideas on how this could’ve been prevented?

Surely the British GP served as a stark warning that for the safety of all the competitors and spectators involved, someone should come up with answers and solutions that are better than extra sets of tyres or controversial secret tests.

Hopefully the questions of when something is going to be done about this will only be asked by happy fans next to a bar counter and not by a crying family member next to an open grave.

Reynard Gelderblom is the motorsport editor for Street Motion.

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