Unsurprisingly, Lotus, one of the few teams to get an early grip on the 2013 Pirelli rubber, is unhappy with the changes due to be introduced in Canada.

On Tuesday, forty-eight hours after a controversial Spanish Grand Prix, Pirelli revealed that it was to revise the construction of its 2013 tyres.

However, speaking ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, and on the back of a run which has seen Kimi Raikkonen take one win and three successive podiums, team boss Eric Boullier has slammed the move.

"There aren't many sports where there are such fundamental changes to an essential ingredient part-way through a season," he said. "Just imagine for a moment that, because a football team can't run as fast as its opponent, the dimensions of the pitch are changed at half time! That there are changes to come can be seen as somewhat frustrating, and I hope they are not too extreme.

Brushing away the suggestion that Pirelli is under pressure from rival teams, the Frenchman continued: "Last year, when we were designing our 2013 car, each team received information from Pirelli and everyone did the best job they could to develop a chassis which would make best use of the tyre characteristics. We even ran with some experimental 2013 tyres at the end of last season, to assist us in confirming our development paths.

"As with every season, some teams do a better job than others with their designs, and some drivers are more adaptable than others to the changes of both car and tyre. It is frustrating when you've developed a car from a set of tyre specifications which are available to everyone - for tyres that are the same for everyone - to then be told that they are being changed mid-season.

"That said, we have a team of talented designers and engineers who will be working twice as hard to ensure we adapt to these changes in the most competitive manner."