Pirelli appears to have given up on changing its C2 tire compound for 2024 after testing a prototype at the F1 Japanese Grand Prix showed no improvement. Pirelli, F1’s official tire supplier, is evaluating tweaks to its 2024 tire compound selection to sort out some minor issues.
One area we considered making changes was to make C2, the third hardest compound of C0 through C5, slightly softer. This was because the performance was found to be very close to C1 and a little too far from C3. So a slight shift was needed to make the gaps between the compounds more even. As part of F1’s tire testing regulations, Pirelli handed out two sets of its prototype soft compound C2 to each driver during Friday practice at the Suzuka circuit last month. However, initial feedback from driving the revised C2 suggests that the performance improvement was not as great as expected. This means Pirelli is almost certain to continue using its current compound until 2024. Mario Isola, Pirelli’s head of car racing, said of the results of Friday’s test in Japan: “Looking at the data and considering the evolution of the track, the prototype had the grip we were looking for.” I don’t think so,” he told Autosport. “So we will probably stay with the current C2 next year. Without a clear result or a clear step in grip, there is no reason to change and introduce a new compound when the current C2 is working well. “It’s a little too close to the C1, but a little too far to the C3. That’s why we wanted to test a prototype.” Pirelli said the test of the improved C2 was a one-off, and that further testing would be required before making a decision. He said there are no plans to conduct an evaluation. However, at this month’s Mexican Grand Prix, Pirelli plans to test an improved prototype of the C4, which it hopes will improve its characteristics. “We want to test the C4 in Mexico using the same system, so we will not have our own FP2, we will only have two sets of prototypes (for drivers),” Isola explained. “The goal is not to move the C4 (compound), because the position is good, but the C4 has seen a lot of graining during the season. “So we want to improve the mechanical resistance and increase the working range. Feedback from the team is that the C4 is a bit peaky.” As well as the planned C4 prototype test in Mexico, Pirelli announced it would use a softer compound for the Grand Prix than last year. Hard, medium, and soft are C3, C4, and C5.
2023-10-02 23:31:36
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