Isola: Riders love the new rain tires

In 2022, drivers were dissatisfied with the performance of rain tires and switched to medium-weight tires as soon as possible, as they allowed higher speeds on wet surfaces. During the winter, Pirelli tire manufacturers conducted a series of tests to evaluate new rain tires that do not require thermal covers.

During testing in Bahrain, Italian company Mario Isola’s head of racing division said drivers liked the new wet tires and they will be available this season starting with the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

Mario Isola: “Last year we didn’t have many opportunities to test wet tyres. The drivers were complaining about the performance of the compounds and we also understood that the tires were not at the level we wanted them to be. The intermediate tires worked fine, but the warm-up and efficiency of the wet tires were subpar.

An agreement with the FIA ​​and the teams allowed us to carry out additional testing during the winter, which proved to be very important as we were able to test the rubber in cold weather conditions.

We tested new formulations developed with new ideas, new ingredients and new philosophies. One of the compounds tested performed very, very well and became a step in the right direction.

All formulations were tested without the use of thermal covers. It turned out that at a track temperature of seven degrees, the new tires without thermal covers warmed up better and were more efficient than last year’s tires.

We tested the tires at Fiorano with Ferrari, at Paul Ricard circuit with Mercedes and at Portimão with AlphaTauri. The last test should not have been rain, but as the track was wet we took the chance.

After three test sessions, all six riders said they wanted new rain tyres. That’s why I sent a request to the FIA, and we got permission to use these tires from Imola. I’m sure this is a step in the right direction.”