At the Spanish Grand Prix, Pirelli tire makers will bring a tough trio of compounds – C1, C2 and C3, and during Friday’s practice the teams will receive two additional sets of new slicks to test and evaluate. The head of Pirelli’s racing division, Mario Isola, provided details.
Mario Isol: “Traditionally, the circuit in Barcelona is popular for testing cars and tires. This is a complete circuit with different types of corners and a very long straight. Therefore, aerodynamic efficiency is the key to competitiveness.
The third sector was changed this year – the last chicane was returned to its original configuration. This smoothes the track and increases speed entering the straight.
Turns 3 and 9 have particularly strong lateral loads on the tyres, so we opted for exactly the same compounds as for the first stage of the season in Bahrain. It is important to remember that compared to last year the C1 compound is new, specifically designed to close the bond between the hardest compound (now called C0) and C2. In theory, this should give teams more choice of strategic options, as not the heaviest line-up was used in the race last year.
Another highlight of this weekend is the opportunity for riders to test out two sets of newly designed Hard in Friday training, which will be used during the British Grand Prix. With the exception of some new materials which have already been homologated following an extensive testing programme, the new formulation specification is identical to the previous one.
We originally planned to use these tires from 2024, but we have changed the decision to increase the stability of the tire structure, as the loads generated by the current machines have already reached the levels we will not see until the end of the season. had expected. The new design does not affect the technical parameters or characteristics of the tyres.
After the race we will continue testing tires for 2024 – Mercedes and Ferrari will spend two days working on our formulas and designs for next season.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
