Pirelli confirms 2023 F1 tire tests at Suzuka and Austin

Pirelli confirms 2023 F1 tire tests at Suzuka and Austin. Pirelli confirms 2023 F1 tire tests at Suzuka and Austin.

While there are still six races left from the current campaign, Formula 1 is already looking ahead in a concrete way to the 2023 championship, and will do so with some tests aimed at the next championship: in the second free practice sessions for the Japanese Grand Prix and the United States Grand Prix, respectively scheduled for 7 and 21 October, there will be 30 additional minutes and therefore the FP2 sessions at Suzuka and Austin will last a total of 90 minutes as compared to the usual 60, to give teams the possibility of running the Pirelli tires for the next championship and gather as much data as possible for the Italian manufacturer.

The decision was confirmed by Pirelli’s Motorsport Director Mario Isola and was made with the goal of laying the foundations for next year’s tyres, especially given the fact that the 2023 Formula 1 calendar will be extremely crowded and it will actually be difficult to find opportunities to carry out other tests:

“We have the opportunity to use the second free practice sessions, which will last 90 minutes and not 60, to have all 20 cars with different testing programmes – Mario Isola explained – as usual, the teams will not know what they are testing, but this is really important for us. It is essential to find new test opportunities, because with 24 races scheduled for next year, I don’t want to say that it will be impossible to find time for testing sessions, but the European season is shorter and there are less opportunities for teams to remain at the track. Tuesday and Wednesday after the race is difficult, so we need to find new opportunities” – the Pirelli Motorsport Director pointed out when asked about the tyres for next season.

In addition, Mario Isola explained what the work plan agreed with the teams for the FP2 session at Suzuka and Austin will be: “We are planning a mileage similar to what they have during a normal practice session, all the teams will perform the same number of laps with prototype tyres. We are trying to keep the project of this test unchanged, also because the teams will prepare the cars for those race weekends. So, we are working with the teams to try to find a smart solution for us to gather data about the tyres, while also not disturbing their preparations for the race weekend too much.” – the Pirelli motorsport manager concluded.