Formula One must allow in-season testing to avoid the risk next year of tyres lasting only a handful of laps and races being cut short, according to Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery.
Under fire for the quick-wearing 2013 compounds that led to a blizzard of pitstops in Spain on Sunday, Hembery warned that a current testing ban made it harder for the Italian company to meet significant technical challenges coming in 2014.
He raised the possible scenario of a race “where you literally can only do five or six laps on every single option that we bring because we’ve totally underestimated the impact (of the new regulations).
“I don’t think we’ll have an issue with structural integrity but we could end up certainly with a compounding issue where we have completely the wrong compounds for the track or what’s going to be the influence of the powertrain on the tyre,” Hembery said.
Team managers held a sporting working group meeting at the Spanish Grand Prix and voted to maintain a ban on in-season testing, despite opposition from some teams.
McLaren’s sporting director Sam Michael said they had decided to stay with the limit of 12 days pre-season, but testing in January was allowed and could be outside of Europe.
Pirelli currently have a 2010 Renault, up to five seconds a lap slower than current cars, for testing. They are expected to continue as sole tyre supplier in 2014, although a deal has yet to be signed.
“We have absolutely no in-season testing, we can’t have access to these cars going around now and have to run around in a 2010 car. It’s alright to sit there and criticise but you’re not exactly given the tools to do a precise job,” a defensive Hembery said as criticism mounted.