Pirelli: Tyre Overheating Issues More Likely In F1 For 2020

Pirelli's head for F1, Mario Isola, was quoted as saying that F1 teams may face more tyre overheating issues by settling for the 2019 compounds as the F1 cars of 2020 will undergo upgrades making them faster then their 2019 counterparts.

As 10 teams unanimously voted against new tyres from Pirelli for the 2020 season, Pirelli had to settle for offering the 2019 tyres for the upcoming season as well.

Mario Isola ( Head of F1 and Car Racing - Pirelli) has voiced his reservation regarding the decision to stick with the 2019 tyres. According to Mario, the consequences of using the same tyre will be two fold on the sport. First, he expects the tyres to over heat more as the cars will be faster in 2020 as compared to 2019. Second, he suggested that the sport is bound to become mundane as new tyres usually bring an element of uncertainty and experimentation to the sport.

Since the teams already know everything about the tyre, the unpredictability of the sport, which is an essential aspect that attracts audiences will reduce since there is no learning curve. Teams will simply know what to expect as they have sufficient data.

Pirelli tyre

Also Read : Pirelli IN, Michelin OUT – WRC Gets Sole Supplier From 2021-24

He was quoted as saying:

"In a condition of consistent technical regulation, because the technical regulations for this year is no different compared to last year, the rate of development is measuring 1-second to 1.5s per lap.

In one season [that is] the improvement in laptime. So, I can expect that we have another step in 2020."That means some more downforce, that means more energy. Probably, if we have to predict something, it could be more overheating, maybe."[That could be] more of a thing because of the additional energy that is going into the tyre."

via motorsport.com

Isola, while addressing people at Autosport International 2020, also said that he expects the teams to have less issues with tyre warm up in the upcoming campaign.

"If you remember at the beginning of the [2019] season, some teams were complaining about warm up and in some occasions, it was a bit difficult to warm up the tyres."That is not going to be an issue for this year. They know the tyres, so the advantage compared to last year is that the learning curve on how to use a new product is already there."So there is no learning curve for the tyres this year."

Teams are already gearing up for significant changes in the 2021 season including new regulations and the new 18 inch tyres from Pirelli and refused to spend more time and effort for 2020 as well. Most of the teams preferred the 2019 tyre as it would save them a lot of resources and effort in modifying the car when its already supposed to be heavily modified to prepare for 2021.

Pirelli new tyre F1

"The only negative side that I can see is that we take out a bit of unpredictability. That is something that sometimes is spicing up the show," he told Reuters during a visit to the Autosport International show in Birmingham.

We see that every time there is something the engineers cannot predict, we have better racing... so without the element of the tyres we are taking out a bit of unpredictability.

We know that teams are focusing on one stop strategies as much as possible. They have also some good data from 2019 so it will be probably slightly easier for the teams to make a strategy."

To counter the overheating issues, Isola suggested the possibility that Pirelli might raise the tyre pressure requirements for 2020 to reduce the energy levels being put through the 2019 rubber. He suggests its the only tool the manufacture can use to help the teams.

How much would depend on what the data tells them regarding performance estimates.

"We are now receiving simulations on the expected performance and we will make our calculation in order to give them the feedback on what is the level of the increase in pressure," he said.

"It could be in the range of probably a couple of psi (pounds per square inch)."

His remarks come at the backdrop of all 10 Formula One teams having confirmed that they will prepare a special 'mule' car for testing the 2021 tyres later in the season.

Isola did say though that the work behind the 2020 tyres won't be wasted as some of the technology has been carried forward into the 2021 tyres.

Image Credits : 1 2 3

Are you interested in Car Servicing?

New Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Locate Tyre Dealers in Your City

Have a question about Tyres?

Get an answer in 24 hours from our experts.

Please Enter Valid Question.

Thankyou for asking question, we will review and provide you an expert answer.

Have a Question

Pirelli Tyre Dealers in Popular Cities

Add to Compare Products