Tire construction is a tough business in racing. The tires have to be built to withstand massive loads and heat but be able to put on a good show as well. The casual fan might not understand why tires are degrading so much if they’re designed to wear.
In Michelin’s case they’re known as the best tire supplier in the sports car world with tires that can be double- and triple-stinted if need be, and in Audi’s infamous case at Le Mans in 2011, even quintuple-stinted. Pirelli are seemingly okay with building single-stint use tires, even in the sports car series they supply, but they often wind up catching flack in F1 for tires that either wear too much or too little. It’s a tough balance to attain when the series requires use of multiple compounds and different levels of grip/wear.
From a marketing standpoint, what does Pirelli get out of it? All you hear is the tires won't switch on, they wouldn't get in the right operating window, the deg killed, the tires were finished after a lap. Are they tires or are they cheeze wheels?
I'm not sure Michelin needs that when the sportscar drives talk about how they can triple stint the tires, they have superb grip and are great in the rain. Why would they want to sully thier name by building cheezey tires that won't last a full GP distance and all the drivers complaining about them?
I understand Michelin's stance completely. What I don't understand is why Pirelli let's F1 tell them how to build a tire that generates nothing but complaints and makes them look bad. Finished after a lap? Doesn't make me want to run out and put Pirellis on the wife's car.
I hate the tire game. I hate it. If you want an example how you can lose a championship because of the tire game, look to Abu Dabi 2021. I much preferred it when they all ran one set of tires for the whole race and part of the skill was keeping them healthy. I get tired of the commentators spewing for two hours about tire compounds, overcuts, undercuts, and things that were never a part of racing until the powers that be thought the show needed "spicing up."
That's as negatitive as I'm going to be because the racing isn't bad. They fixed the cars. Now fix the tires.