Pirelli improves tires for 2023

Pirelli believes that the first part of the championship has shown that the tasks for 2022 have generally been achieved, that the 18-inch tires have proved quite effective and that no radical changes are needed in preparation for the next season. But some improvements still need to be made.

Before the start of the season, the tire workers had some apprehension as they were only imagining how the new tires would work on new generation cars, but during the winter tests and after that during the first races it became clear that everything was going well.

Cars that are aerodynamically based on ground effect generate more downforce, resulting in higher cornering speeds and a higher tire load. But she survives without any problems.

It also allayed fears that the new tires were designed to be too hard compounds, and this could lead to all races being held with a single pit stop. But the winners of the first 13 Grand Prix made a total of 23 pit stops, i.е. tires almost always change twice per race.

The most important thing for Pirelli was to create conditions for a more interesting fight on the track, and the company’s specialists have made sure that the rubber overheats less by 2022. This allows the riders to closely chase the rivals for several laps in a row and make several overtaking attempts – the tires allow this without sacrificing efficiency.

After analyzing the information collected during tests and races this year, the Italian company’s specialists do not intend to make any significant changes to their products. If everything is fine, what’s the point of changing anything because there’s a risk of it getting worse. There’s one problem, though: the front tires are less wear-resistant than the rear tires, causing riders to struggle with understeer, especially in slow corners.

But in the final tire tests before the summer break, Pirelli tested new tire prototypes with a view to 2023, and the test results are quite encouraging, according to Mario Isola, head of the company’s racing division.

Shinnik plans to fix some issues in preparation for next season.

“We are working to improve the grip offered by the heaviest tires in the C1 compound,” Auto Motor und Sport quoted Isola as saying. “We think there’s too much difference between this lineup and C2 right now.”

The granulation resistance of the softer C4 and C5 rubber formulations also needs to be improved. After the Monza stage, tire tests will be held at this track, involving the Red Bull Racing team – these will be the final tests of the new rubber, after which the five compounds targeted for 2023 will go through the homologation procedure.

“We understand that the speed of cars will increase significantly again next year, so we are developing stiffer frames,” Isola added.

The new rubber should offer a wider contact patch, which not only increases grip, but also ensures a more even and stable warm-up. In addition, Pirelli is willing to go so far as to lower the prescribed tire pressure levels, which were clearly exaggerated at some races this year.

It is assumed that during the weekends in Suzuka and Austin the work with rubber will continue in 2023: riders from all teams will train along. Then, right after the end of the season, during the tests in Abu Dhabi, all teams will also test new tires.

Mario Isola is concerned, however, that the calendar for the next championship could be unprecedentedly tight, leaving little room for full-scale tire improvement work: individual assignment tests.

In addition, the number of road races is increasing and it appears that we simply do not have the opportunity to test tire prototypes. We hope the FIA ​​will allow us to do more testing on race weekends when the teams collect information for us during practice.”