Many riders criticized having to use preheated tires during the Doha GP run, with some runners being caught with the lack of grip of these options at crucial moments.
Preheated tires are unused tires from an allocation for a Grand Prix weekend that have been returned to Michelin at a later date, with that tire eventually going through separate heat cycles.
Michelin claims that its results show no difference in performance between “normal” new tires and pre-warmed tires – but this contradicts general feedback from drivers.
After Binder survived Q1 in Jerez, Binder only had a new soft tire left for his Q2 attack, with this option a preheated one that he lacked in grip and was only able to qualify in 11th and 0.712 seconds behind pole.
“I mean, Q1 was fine,” said Binder of his Saturday.
“In the end it was a little difficult to do a lap, but Q2… we still had one tire and I had to sit in the pits and wait.
“So we put in a used front and a new rear, and the new rear we had was a preheated tire.
“Well, it was like driving around with a rock in your back and it was spinning like hell and going nowhere.”
Also read:
Binder was fortunate to have weathered a bad looking crash unscathed in the FP3 session when he was thrown from his KTM in the Sito Pons right-hand corner after going off the track.
The KTM rider says he tried a different line on the way into the corner and missed his braking mark “by a mile”, which led him off the track and forced him into the crash.
“FP3 I made a big mistake,” he explained.
“I tried to change my line a little and when I did I missed my brake mark by a mile.
“And if you get off the track where I did, you will hit the wall because I was heading straight for it.
“I just tried to hang on the corner for as long as possible and wanted to pick it up again as soon as I hit the gravel.
“But I just didn’t pick it up in time because you’re obviously trying to see, and I didn’t see myself getting that close to the grass.
“I had a pretty big fall there, but luckily everything is fine. A bit sore, but nothing serious. “