Lotus will not agree to Silverstone tyre debut

Eric Boullier has poured cold water on Lotus’ plans to introduce new tyres at Silverstone later this month.

Initially wanting to race the tweaks this weekend in Canada, F1’s tyre supplier said instead that they will be merely tested on Friday ahead of full introduction in Britain.

But Lotus’ Boullier is quoted by RMC Sport in Canada: "The (new) tyres will not happen in England.

"Pirelli will test the tyres but they need the unanimity of the teams to change the rules, or at least change the type of tyres, and today they haven’t got it."

Boullier said the hard lobbying of some teams, notably Red Bull and Mercedes, will not make any difference.

"The rules are the same for everyone," he insisted. "They (the current 2013 tyres) were tested in Brazil last season.

"It is a major component of the sporting and technical sides this year, so I don’t see why we should change during the season."

World champion Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, is arguing that the tweaked tyres should be pushed through immediately, because rear delamination is a clear safety issue.

"Neither is overly safe, is it?" the German answered, when told of the distinction between tyres that deflate and those that simply delaminate.

"I don’t want to dramatise, but we saw what can happen with Felipe Massa when the driver is struck by a flying object. I don’t want a flying tread to hit my head," Vettel is quoted by Speed Week.