PlanetF1

Pirelli switching to more aggressive tyres

Monday 24-December-2012 07:24

Pirelli are switching to new constructions and even softer compounds next year, and are confident Formula 1 teams are prepared for the change.

The Italian tyre manufacturer hopes the changes will help add to the spectacle and provide a proper challenge, and believes the F1 teams are better prepared for such a move than they were at the start the season.

With the technical regulations not set to change significantly over the winter, there were fears that next season could follow the last a bit too predictably, but Pirelli's British head of motor racing, Paul Hembery, believes the new tyres could help shake up the pecking order.

"The tyres next year will be different from those used this year," said Hembery.

"The walls flex a little more, which will have a significant influence on the aerodynamic performance.

"I don't think the next championship will necessarily be anything like how it finished this year.

"I think there will be teams who will look deeply into this feature of our new tyres.

"I am sure they are racking their brains as to how it affects, for example, the suspension. We saw in testing how the tyres changed the behaviour of the cars.

"The designers will be looking at that," he added.

Pirelli's chief technical officer Maurizio Boicchi, meanwhile, reckons the fact that the last few races of the season were mostly regulation one-stop events is an indication that a bit of a shake-up might be in order and that the teams will be ready for it.

"During 2012, more or less all the teams learned much better how to use our tyres," Boicchi told AUTOSPORT.

"One of the key criteria that improved their consistency was the fact that we have seen and measured much less wheel spinning from them - which means they have learned how to manage this phenomenon.

"Wheel spin is terrible, as you wear the tyres fast, heat them up and they degrade very, very rapidly.

"This was something more and more taken into consideration by the teams. You could see cars during free practice with infra red measurements on the tyres in order to have a point-by-point reference on the circuit for the temperature on the surface of the tyres.

"It was one of the most important pieces of information on the tyres that relates to wheel spin - and it made all the difference.

"We believe a lot of things have moved in this direction, and what we would like to do in 2013 is to come back to be a little bit more aggressive in our compound choice in order to introduce more pitstops and strategy for the teams."