Despite tests conducted during the season to modify certain tire characteristics, Pirelli has confirmed that the 2024 compounds will remain the same throughout this championship. However, the hardest compound in the entire range, C0, will be eliminated, even though it was never used during this season. Teams will have the opportunity to gather valuable data for the upcoming season during the post-season tests in Abu Dhabi.
The year 2023 has been a challenging season for Pirelli, which, throughout the year, focused on two important different areas. On the one hand, an extensive testing program aimed to debut tires in 2024 that do not require the use of tire warmers before hitting the track, while on the other hand, the focus was on new compounds for the next championship.
However, after the F1 Commission decided last month to postpone the introduction of tires that do not require the use of tire warmers for another year, with a vote scheduled for next July, the Milanese company had to revert to another type of prototypes. The goal was to intervene on some tire characteristics, also repositioning the C2 and C4 compounds.
However, on the eve of the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, where post-season tests will also take place, Pirelli has confirmed that there will be no changes for 2024. In fact, the compounds will remain the same as this season, except for C0, which will be eliminated, reducing the number of available compounds for teams to five.
“As usual, the Grand Prix will have an appendix the following Tuesday with a test day featuring all teams with two cars, one dedicated to young drivers and one for tire testing. It should be noted that on this occasion, there will be no new solutions to try in terms of compounds. In fact, it has recently been communicated to the FIA and the teams that in 2024, the compounds will be the same as those available this year. The only novelty will be the reduction in their number from six to five, with the elimination of C0, which was never used in a race weekend,” explained Mario Isola on the eve of the weekend that will conclude the 2023 season. In fact, C0, which was actually the C1 of 2022, had been kept as a kind of “backup” option in case it was needed, as it was significantly harder than other solutions. However, it was never used during the year.
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“The test can be an opportunity for teams to work on optimizing tire management, collecting useful data for the preparation of the next season. For the day, teams will have a predefined tire allocation. The car dedicated to tire work can mount ten sets: one of C1, one of C2, two of C5, three of C4, and the same for C3. The car reserved for young drivers can be equipped with two sets of C3 and C5, as well as four sets of C4,” added the Head of Pirelli Motorsport.
Initially, the Italian manufacturer had proposed a repositioning of the C2 and C4 compounds and the modification of some of their characteristics. The first test took place in Japan during the free practice sessions, and Pirelli had chosen to try a slightly softer C2, as this compound during the year had proved to be too close to the C1 in terms of performance and a bit too far from the C3. However, the feedback obtained at Suzuka from the use of the modified C2 confirmed that it did not provide the expected performance in terms of generated grip, prompting Pirelli to set aside this prototype.
There were different reasons that led to taking a different path regarding the C4, the second softest compound in the entire range. The idea was to maintain the basic characteristics of the current compound but improve its mechanical resistance. In fact, during the season, there were instances of excessive graining on the C4, as seen, for example, in Las Vegas, even though the U.S. track represents one of the most demanding and peculiar appointments in this regard. However, after tests in Mexico, the new prototype was also discarded, although Pirelli already has ideas for the future: among the possible ideas is to work on the warm-up phase to ensure better resistance to certain phenomena over long distances.
Isola remains confident that the current construction, modified midway through the season with new materials that improved its mechanical resistance, will be able to handle the increased load until the end of 2024: “If I look at the simulations we received in June, with the current construction, we can cope with this level of load,” Mario Isola explained.
“But this year, for example, they managed to reach a higher level of performance and load than the simulations at the beginning of the year. We will receive the new simulations at the beginning of December, and obviously, we will analyze them because they are probably more accurate than those in June.”
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