Photo by ERWIN SCHERIAU/APA/AFP via Getty Images
At Silverstone this week, Pirelli will unveil a new construction to their tyre compounds
Pirelli, the exclusive tyre supplier to Formula 1, announced on Tuesday that they will debut a new construction to their tyres beginning with the British Grand Prix.
The chance comes ahead of one of the toughest tracks on tyres, and the F1 drivers themselves.
“The British Grand Prix will mark the debut of a new slick tyre construction, using materials that have been brought forward from their anticipated introduction next year,” said Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Motorsport Director. “This change in specification was made necessary due to the increased performance of the cars seen since the start of the season – both in terms of outright speed and loadings – compared to the pre-season simulation data supplied to Pirelli by the teams last winter, and the fact that this trend is only set to increase as the championship goes on.”
This addition will be a welcome change for teams that have struggled with tyre wear and degradation this season, like Haas. While Haas has been strong on Saturdays with their one-lap pace, they have often struggled on Sundays with their race pace, with tyre degradation being a massive reason why.
“It’s pretty clear now, obviously the result is not what we should be doing and it’s very disappointing. I think we know where to look, the issue is as soon as we get into traffic and behind cars, our degradation is immense, we cannot get the tyre performance back and we just slip back,” said Haas Team Boss Guenther Steiner after the Canadian Grand Prix.
“The new specification gives the tyre extra resistance against fatigue but does not affect any technical parameters or its behaviour on track. All the teams already had the opportunity to try the new tyre construction out at the Spanish Grand Prix, when two sets were put at the disposal of each driver in free practice,” added Isola in Pirelli’s announcement. “Their comments were in line with our expectations, especially when it came to transparency in terms of performance. The new specification also allows us to keep front and rear tyre pressures largely unchanged compared to last year, despite a significant increase in average loads.”
Unveiling them ahead of the British Grand Prix might not come as a surprise, given the demands. that Silverstone places on both the tyres, and the drivers.
“This debut will come on a track that is traditionally one of the hardest on tyres; on our internal charts Silverstone is right at the top in terms of stress and lateral forces exerted on them: particularly the front-left,” added Isola. “The track also takes a lot out of the drivers, who have to cope with lateral accelerations in excess of 5g throughout its rapid corners.”
Teams will have the three hardest compounds in Pirelli’s arsenal at their disposal this weekend at Silverstone.
“The compound choices – which, unlike the structure, are not undergoing any change in specification – are identical to previous years at least in name: C1 is the hard, C2 is the medium, and C3 is the soft,” said Isola. “However, the current C1 is in fact a brand new compound for this year, which fits in between the C2 and the C0: our new name for the hardest compound in the 2022 range.”
What will be fascinating to watch is whether this alters the strategy for any of the teams in this weekend’s British Grand Prix. Traditionally, Silverstone has been a two-stop race for teams, given the high level of tyre degradation. In last year’s British Grand Prix some drivers made three, even four, pit stops. Carlos Sainz Jr., the winner of last year’s British GP, made three pit stops along the way.
While many of those came after a crash on the opening lap, it is clear that in past editions, tyre wear has been an issue.
However, could this new compound open up a potential one-stop strategy? Or allow teams to truly keep it to a two-stop race?
We’ll know for sure in a few days’ time.
