Revised rules regarding tyre usage will be implemented for the Formula 1 qualifying session during this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, the sixth round of the 2023 Formula One championship
Not only will the total number of tyre sets per driver be reduced, but there will also be a mandatory specification for the tyre compound used in each qualifying segment at the 4.909-kilometre Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. In a normal race weekend, all drivers have the freedom to choose any type of tyre compound during each qualifying segment, yet it is clear that most tend to opt for the softest Pirelly tyre in order to have a better opportunity of setting a strong lap time and therefore advancing in qualifying.
Things will be different in qualifying for the upcoming Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
In the initial qualifying segment (Q1), drivers will be compelled to use the white-walled Hard tyres. Only those who progress to Q2 will be allowed to utilize the yellow-walled Medium compound.
Once the field narrows down to the top 10 drivers competing for pole position at the Imola circuit, they will have the opportunity to run on the Soft tyres.
The duration of the three qualifying segments, which last 18, 15, and 12 minutes respectively, will remain unaltered.
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Furthermore, the total number of dry weather tyres allocated to each driver for the entire weekend will be decreased from 13 sets to 11 sets: as a result drivers will only be able to use three sets of Hard tyres, four sets of Medium tyres, and four sets of Soft tyres available throughout the three practice sessions, qualifying, and the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. No changes will be made in terms of Intermediate and Wet tyres allocation, compounds that will most likely be used this weekend given the weather forecast for the Imola event.
This revised approach is expected to save two sets of tyres per car per weekend, resulting in a total of 46 sets across the complete Formula 1 championship. Considering a grid of 20 single-seaters, this would eliminate the need to produce or ship nearly 1000 tyres worldwide, thereby helping the Italian tyre supplier in its efforts to limit its carbon footprint.
According to information recently reported by the RacingNews365 website, the rule change was agreed upon last year through an ‘Alternative Tyre Allocation’ plan, with a favourable view from Pirelli, the Commercial Rights Holder, all the Formula 1 teams, and the FIA, the governing body of F1.
This rule change will be implemented at one more race later in the 2023 Formula 1 campaign, allowing Pirelli to evaluate the collected data before potentially deciding to use the format for more Formula 1 events in the next season.
In a recent announcement made by Pirelli, they revealed their plan to introduce an updated tyre specification for all races starting from the British Grand Prix. You can read more about this here.
Teams provide Pirelli with their projected performance data, which is then utilized to develop tyres capable of enduring the specified loads.
However, the teams have exceeded their own performance expectations, as demonstrated by the pole time at the Miami International Autodrome in Florida, USA, which proved to be almost two seconds faster than Charles Leclerc’s pole lap for the 2022 Miami Grand Prix.
Considering the upcoming high tyre load race tracks such as Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps, Zandvoort, and Suzuka in the latter part of the season, Pirelli asked for approval from the FIA to introduce the new tyres, that will also serve as the foundation for the standard design of next year’s compounds.
Teams will have the opportunity to test these tyres for the first time during the practice sessions for the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona next month.
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