Pirelli will collaborate with Formula 1 to develop a new tire concept that degrades less than the current ones while still allowing for a variety of pit stop strategies. These new tires will not make their debut until the 2025 season.
Reducing tire degradation while enabling a substantial range of pit stop strategies is no easy task on paper, but Pirelli, in partnership with Formula 1, will seek to find a way to achieve both objectives with the same tire.
The request for reduced degradation comes from the drivers who always want to push to the limit and manage their tires less during various stints in the race. The second request is aimed at minimizing predictable race strategies, keeping a window of uncertainty that could benefit Formula 1.
Pirelli will prepare for all of this in the future, after seeing how the situation regarding the 18-inch tires introduced at the beginning of 2022 with the advent of ground-effect cars has evolved. The aerodynamic development of these cars led to tires overheating due to altered airflow.
Formula 1 has been actively seeking divergent strategies, which has resulted in tires that degrade significantly. However, the current level of degradation has prompted drivers to request the ability to push their tires harder. Mario Isola, the head of Pirelli’s motorsport division, provided an update on the requests related to the tire range that the Italian manufacturer will need to produce for the future of the World Championship.
“Without high tire degradation, there is no reason to aim for races with two pit stops. If degradation is reduced, I am convinced that there is a risk of having a train of cars because, of course, if you can push, you do, and everyone can do the same. It’s not something that can differ from driver to driver,” Mario Isola said to a select group of journalists, including Motorsport.com – “So, I understand the drivers complaining about high tire degradation because I know they would like to push harder. And this is a clear indication. Our goal is to understand how to change the action on the track and reduce degradation. It’s something we can do.”
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“We just need to design a tire with different levels of degradation, and we can consider that option for the future. But it’s important to understand if there could be unintended consequences.”
According to information obtained by Motorsport.com, Pirelli will collaborate with Formula 1 and the teams to conduct its investigation into the future since its simulation tools for predicting strategies do not account for the effects of racing in traffic.
The tire compound range for the 2024 Formula 1 season has already been defined and approved, and any changes will not make their debut until the 2025 season, just over a year from now.
“It is important to clarify such objectives in advance for the future. We need to understand what is good for Formula 1, taking into account the advice and comments from the drivers. But we do everything for the good of this sport,” Mario Isola concluded.
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