Pirelli motorsport director Mario Isola says changes to the tyres alone is not enough to inject more action into Formula 1 races.

Speaking to RaceFans ahead of the start of the 2019 F1 season , Isola explained why the sport’s official tyre supplier had backed away from its previous policy of creating softer tyre compounds to enliven races by encouraging teams to use multi-stop pit strategies.

“If we talk about races from last year, we know that most of them were one-stop races,” said Isola. “Teams have a different approach, they try to manage the race pace rather than pushing and increase the number of pit stops because then they [fall] back in traffic and they have to overtake – [that’s] more difficult, so they have a different approach.

“At this point, and also talking to the drivers, we said that if we go softer and softer [with the compound] and the result is that they just manage the pace, this is useless, we have to find another way.”

Other changes have been made to F1 cars for the new season including simpler wings, which should help cars run closer together, and larger fuel tanks, which may give drivers more opportunities to drive flat-out. Isola believes less fragile tyres are now needed to help drivers get the most out of their cars for longer.

“For 2019 it’s better to select compounds that are a bit more consistent, let’s say slightly harder than 2018, in order to have one-stop but drivers are able to push more.

“This year we have also five kilos of fuel more. That means in some races that were fuel-limited last year they can push, they can have a different race pace.

“When we talk about Formula 1 we have to think about all the factors, we cannot just take the tyres and consider the tyres themselves, it’s a mistake. We have to consider the package and talk to the FIA, FOM, teams and drivers and try to find a solution all together.

“If we work alone on tyres, it’s the wrong approach.”

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2019 F1 season