The new Formula 1 season was expected to be a test of the new Pirelli 18-inch tyres as well, aside from the new cars.
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Formula 1’s tyre supplier Pirelli have said they are happy with how pre-season testing at Barcelona went. This is because they got to collect plenty of data on the new 18-inch wheel rims.
A lot of the focus for the upcoming season has been on the new generation of F1 cars. However, the new season was expected to be a test of Pirelli’s new tyres as well.
It isn’t just the fact that the new wheels are part of the aerodynamic package. It’s that the tyre manufacturer is supposed to improve the quality of the tyres too.
And, as things stand, the tyre company are happy with what they’ve seen so far.
“First of all, I have to say I am quite happy because the first target was to confirm what we found during our tyre development test last year and the post-season test [in Abu Dhabi],” said Pirelli Head of F1 and Car Racing Mario Isola.
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“Last year we were using new cars, so we had some question marks like the aero package, that is not the same, like the wheel cover, the heat transfer from the brake and the rim so it was important to have a first feeling of that.
“It was quite positive; comments were in line with what we found last year. Now we have a lot of data to analyse.
“Teams were focused mostly on C2 and C3 [compounds] because they are focused on the car set-up and balance and to understand how the car behaves, but I believe that we have good information.”
The final day of testing also saw the track wet to test out the intermediate and wet weather tyres. Thus, teams ran either the green or blue-banded tyres.
Isola said there was plenty to be gained from the tests in terms of information on tyre behaviour.
“That was an opportunity that we decided to give to the teams, because I feel that with such a big change in tyres and the car it was not right to face the wet conditions without having tested the wet or intermediates first.
“So, we asked the circuit to use as many tanks as they had and they had six, I believe, so in one hour’s time they put as much water as they can, and we had something similar to full wet conditions.”
But that wasn’t all they felt the need to evaluate. They also wanted to check out the crossover time; gauging how long it would take for the track to dry, for slick tyres to be fitted.
“Also, [we wanted] to evaluate the crossover time between wet and intermediate, and the intermediate to slick.
“The crossover time is really important, to be ensure that there is an overlay between two products and not a gap, because a gap is dangerous, you don’t have any tyres that are suitable for that condition, and we want to avoid that.”
The 2022 Formula 1 season gets underway from March 18 onwards. The second and final round of pre-season testing takes place a week earlier from March 10-12.
