Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen says he cannot understand why people are complaining about Pirelli’s tyres.

Several drivers, most vocally Mark Webber, have complained that Formula 1 has become too tyre centric during the early part of 2013.

But Raikkonen, who won in Australia, believes that using the tyres correctly is simply part of racing.

“I think you can push on these tyres, but it’s never perfect. You cannot always push 100%. I think they are very good in qualifying and have good grip, so it’s up to you and you have to look after them a bit more in the race,” he said.

“It’s not really any different from last year – at least for us anyway – so I don’t really understand why people are complaining.”

Team principal Eric Boullier believes it is up to the teams to understand the tyres.

“As a sport we asked our tyre supplier, Pirelli, to provide us with tyres which encourage different strategies and adapting to this is part of the competition,” he said.

“We’ve seen some great racing so far this year and Pirelli can take some of the credit for this. We are all allocated the same tyres so it’s up to us as teams and the drivers in the cars to make the most of them.”

As if any translation were required!