The 2023 Dutch Grand Prix was halted at lap 65 due to a red flag being waved on account of the exigencies of the situation. The race was stopped for around 40 minutes, following an Alfa Romeo crashing into the barriers at Turn 1, courtesy of Valtteri Bottas.
George Russell, in light of this delay, recently challenged the usefulness and efficiency of extreme wet weather tyres, referring to them as a “complete waste of time,” and demanding an amendment to the rules be effected to scrap the use of this tyre class.
George Russell wants F1 to scrap extreme wet tyres
When the race was finally allowed to restart after a 40-minute red flag, the FIA imposed the mandate that all drivers were to restart the race on intermediate tyres. The wet weather compound could have been used during this delay, but for safety reasons, the FIA waited for the rain to simmer down.
On this, Russell has said, “The intermediate choice was the right one. That was purely done because the pit lane’s too narrow and they knew that everybody would be peeling in from extreme to the inters.”
Elaborating, he continues, “That extreme tyre is a complete waste of time at the moment and I think it should just be parked. If the conditions are too wet for intermediates, they [should] enforce that we just have to wait until the conditions get better.”
Pirelli has yet to offer an efficient enough wet tyre, with the super-intermediate tyres being hinted at by Pirelli as a future possibility.
Meanwhile, Verstappen, amidst all the drama at his home race, went on to take his 9th consecutive victory.
Verstappen takes record-equalling ninth win
In a chaotic Dutch GP, amidst all the rain and the pitstops, Verstappen drove his RB19 to near perfection, finishing ahead of Alonso by over 3 seconds following the restart at lap 65.
The record for most consecutive wins, after the 2023 Dutch GP, is now shared between Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, with both of whom being Red Bull drivers when they achieved this feat.
Max is offered the chance to extend this win streak at Monza, which effectively means he stands a chance to break the record altogether with a 10-race win streak! The Dutchman has already won 11 out of 13 races so far this season, averaging 26.07 points per weekend. Given this form, breaking the record may come very easy to the reigning world champion.
Do you agree with George Russell on this matter? Comment what you think down below!
