The challenge of getting Formula 1 tyres to work in their ideal operating range is dominating the championship at present, according to Haas team principal Guenther Steiner.

While Haas have had severe difficulties optimising their tyre use in some races, Steiner believes every team on the grid has experienced similar problems.

“I think the car is better than last year’s car,” he said in response to a question from RaceFans. “It’s more consistent, the balance is better.

“We cannot get the tyres to work but I wouldn’t say that if you look int the paddock everybody has a complaint about these tyres being in or out. That is the biggest thing, and I think actually distracts from how good the car is.

“Our car was good in a few places, completely useless in other ones and we know exactly why but we don’t know how to fix it because we cannot get the tyre to work. And it’s not only that we have got that problem everybody has got that problem and you can see also in the midfield everybody is very close together but it doesn’t really show you how quick the car is, it shows you more who got the tyres to work and who not. It’s a championship of the tyre working range, who can get it and who not, at the moment.”

Steiner believes the problem is lessened when Pirelli chooses its softer tyre compounds. “I think people are getting closer and it seems like the softer family of tyre is helpful towards this. But I think you can ask anybody up and down here, nobody’s really happy or has got a hundred percent understanding of what the tyre is doing.”

Steiner met with Pirelli motorsport director Mario Isola following the problems they experienced earlier this year, but admits there is little the sport’s official tyre supplier can do to change the situation this year.

“It cannot improve, it’s more of an understanding going forward what can be done and explain him where we struggle. [Pirelli] cannot, by regulation, change tyre. That’s [how] it is.

“The only thing they can change is which tyre they bring to the track. Do you bring from C1 to C3 or C3 to C5? That is the thing what they can change. Maybe they saw that they brought the harder tyres and should go softer. That is the only thing they can do.”

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2019 F1 season