Formula 1 official tyre supplier Pirelli is focusing on some changes ahead of the 2023 F1 championship, with the goal of offering teams a much stronger front. This should help dial out the understeer behaviour of this year’s tyres.
Pirelli worked with individual teams after certain races this season and has one more testing programme with Red Bull, which is scheduled to take place after the Monza Grand Prix, but the Italian tyre manufacturer has also requested the chance to test prototype versions of the 2023 design during a Grand Prix weekend.
Pirelli motorsport manager Mario Isola has confirmed that F1 will extend the second free practice sessions for the Japanese Grand Prix and the United States Grand Prix for an extra 30 minutes, in order to provide teams with more time to test the 2023 prototype compounds. In case rain will affect either of those sessions, the test will be postponed for the Mexican Grand Prix FP2 later in the year.
When asked about this test, Pirelli’s Motorsport Director Mario Isola is confident the plan for extended running will provide the necessary feedback for Pirelli, given the fact that team will not have to lose time as they focus on preparations for the Grand Prix weekend.
“FP2 will be 90 minutes, not 60 minutes, so we have a bit more flexibility. In terms of running it will be very similar to a normal FP2 for them. I believe that with the current plan, we have a good solution for the moment. Obviously it is the first time so we need to check if it works or not. But the idea is for the future to keep all these kinds of testing available. So when we have the European season after some races, Tuesday, Wednesday, we can use some available teams for proper tyre testing. ” – Mario Isola explained.
Pirelli is happy about this plan, but at the same time is aware that the extra running brings some complications for teams:
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“Clearly we have to talk also about PU mileage. We cannot increase the power unit mileage compared to their plants and so on. It’s complicated, because any time you find the solution you’ll find also problems in the solution. The idea to use FP2 is a good idea: you don’t oblige the teams to move to a different location, you don’t oblige them to stay longer, like Tuesday, Wednesday at the circuit. But then you have to use the same car they are using for the rest of the weekend, with the same engine, so the mileage is an issue. Every time that we have an idea you have to discuss it for weeks to find a final solution that is working.” – Pirelli’s head of car racing and F1 concluded.
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