(Motorsports news) Following Pirelli’s creation of new 23-inch tyres for the initial transition to ground effect cars last season, subsequent aerodynamic improvement by teams has resulted in complaints about how quickly the tyres now overheat due to the changing airflow. While F1 has desired several pitstops to develop diverging strategy, which requires the tire to degrade significantly, drivers have increasingly spoken out against the heavy wear that inhibits them from pushing throughout a stint.
As a result, F1 tyre producer Pirelli – which has signed a contract extension to extend the exclusive supply relationship until 2027, with an option for an additional year – is starting research on a new tyre idea. “Without high degradation, there is no reason to target a two-stop race,” Pirelli motorsport boss Mario Isola told select media, including Motorsport.com.
“However, I believe that the majority of the action on track is due to tyre degradation and how you manage tyre degradation. If you reduce that, I am convinced that the risk is having a train of cars because, obviously, if you can push, I can push, and everyone else can push.” Each driver does not have a unique tyre.
“So, I understand drivers who are complaining about high tyre degradation because they would like to push more, and this is a clear indication.” As a result of the persistent complaints, Isola indicated that Pirelli will conduct a thorough investigation into the matter in the “coming weeks. What we want to understand is how we can modify the action on track and reduce the degradation,” he stated. This is something we can accomplish.
“We need to design a tyre with a different level of degradation, and we can consider that option in the future.” But it’s critical to evaluate whether there are any unexpected consequences.” Pirelli will collaborate with F1 and the teams to perform its inquiry because its own simulator techniques for predicting tactics do not account for the consequences of running in traffic.
Because the 2024 chassis and tire compounds have already been designed and locked in, any alterations would not make their grand prix debut until 2025. “It is critical that we have these kinds of targets clarified in advance for the future,” Isola continued. “We need to understand what is good for the sport, taking into consideration the advice, the comments from the drivers but for the benefit of the sport.”
