Pirelli Racing Manager on Ferrari and the 2017 Formula 1 season. Mario Isola's view on the 2017 Formula 1 season.

Scuderia Ferrari looks solid ahead of the 2017 Formula 1 season and may be in a strong position to challenge Mercedes and Red Bull Racing for the top places, as confirmed by Mario Isola, Pirelli Racing Manager, who is taking over from Paul Hembery as the most important Formula 1 figure representing the sport’s official tyre supplier Pirelli.

The Italian motorsport director, who started his career as test driver for Pirelli’s road car tyres, thinks that Scuderia Ferrari has succeeded in making new, wider tyres that will have a significant contribution to the 2017 Formula 1 cars being much faster and more challenging for drivers: “Last year, the cars were reaching forces of 4G, but now we are measuring figures at about 6G, so we can say that the new racing cars are nearly fighter planes.” – Mario Isola said, as reported by the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport – “I am sure the drivers will be tired at the end of the race which could lead to errors and opportunities for opponents to mount an attack.”

However, Mario Isola confirms that the new rules and the emphasis on greater downforce most likely will lead to overtaking being even more difficult than recent years: “Indeed. Now we have more durable tyres and more downforce, so inevitably we will see less tyre changes and the drivers will find it harder to follow a rival closely. Yet I also want to emphasise the positive aspect, which is that we will experience less overtaking moves, but the fans will feel that these overtaking moves will be more real.” – Pirelli Racing Manager added.

Last but not least, Mario Isola was asked about Scuderia Ferrari, and the fact that the new regulations seem to have brought an improvement for the Maranello side: “I don’t know if they are the fastest, but it is clear to me that Ferrari is in good shape. Even if it is normal that we don’t see everything in the tests, I do believe that we have recognised in Barcelona the people that are strong. Personally, I would like to see a more complex fight for the world championship, and not just with Ferrari but also Red Bull and even an outsider like Williams.” – Mario Isola concluded.