Pirelli boss Mario Isola has detailed how the new construction of Formula 1 tyres will work when they are introduced at this weekend's British Grand Prix. In response to higher than expected loads in the 2023 season, Pirelli elected to bring a new construction of tyre to Silverstone, with teams getting a chance to run them during practice for last month's Spanish Grand Prix. With a run of circuits with high lateral tyre loads coming up, such as Silverstone, Spa and Zandvoort, Pirelli decided to take action but Isola says nothing else has changed about the rubber.
Pirelli's tyre change
"The British Grand Prix will mark the debut of a new slick tyre construction, using materials that have been brought forward from their anticipated introduction next year," Isola explained. "This change in specification was made necessary due to the increased performance of the cars seen since the start of the season – both in terms of outright speed and loadings – compared to the pre-season simulation data supplied to Pirelli by the teams last winter, and the fact that this trend is only set to increase as the championship goes on. "We’ve worked very hard on simulation over the last few years in order to not only supply a product that meets the performance targets set by all the stakeholders but also to have the ability to anticipate any eventual issues and react to them promptly. "The new specification gives the tyre extra resistance against fatigue but does not affect any technical parameters or its behaviour on track. "All the teams have already had the opportunity to try the new tyre construction out at the Spanish Grand Prix, when two sets were put at the disposal of each driver in Free Practice. "Their comments were in line with our expectations, especially when it came to transparency in terms of performance. "The new specification also allows us to keep front and rear tyre pressures largely unchanged compared to last year, despite a significant increase in average loads." Tyre compounds for the race are the C1, C2, and C3, although the C1 is the new compound of rubber in use throughout 2023, with Pirelli opting for a hard range of tyre owing to the nature of Silverstone.
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