Pirelli’s F1 competition manager Mario Isola said the FIA’s plan to reduce downforce in 2021 to help the firm was more about performance than safety.
After the refusal of all the teams at the end of last season, Pirelli was unable to introduce the tires designed for 2020 and had to maintain the 2019 tires for this season. However, the COVID-19 pandemic requires 2021 regulations. has been postponed to 2022, and 2019 tires will have to make a third consecutive season next year.
The problem with such a lifespan for a tire designed in 2018 is that it is not adapted to the aero evolutions and the loads it undergoes with current and future single-seaters. It was thus decided, during the confinement and the forced break of F1, that the level of downforce of the 2021 single-seaters would be controlled by reducing the size of the flat bottom in front of the rear tires.
But since then, there has been the British Grand Prix, during which the tires suffered and suffered punctures only due to their wear more than expected on a particularly demanding track. The FIA has therefore decided to impose a further reduction in support for single-seaters in certain areas. Details are yet to be finalized, which will be done at a meeting of the FIA Technical Working Group with the technical directors of the teams this Friday.
On the Pirelli side, we obviously welcome these changes, but we insist that these new changes should not be seen as safety measures. In fact, the manufacturer has a response to the risk of excessive wear and weakening of the tire structure: the increase in pressure. But the latter, beyond a certain threshold, create other concerns, such as overheating, which have an impact on performance and therefore the show.
“The FIA decided to do this”said Mario Isola on the new rules announced. “And I can’t say that I don’t agree. But I don’t want the message to be that it’s about safety reasons, because we can use the pressure to compensate for the level of stress.”
“Obviously, if we consider the period between now and the end of 2021, the capacity of the teams to develop the cars is enormous. We will be able to reach, at the end of 2021, an aero load level which will be very high. And as a consequence, we would be obliged increase the pressure to the point of having degradation from overheating or blistering again to a level that we don’t want, so it’s the right thing to do for next year. ”
“For me it’s not a question of safety. If we increase the pressure, we can compensate for the level of load, the level of stress that is put on the tires. We did that for Silverstone in the second. race. OK, the comparison is difficult because we didn’t have a 37-38 lap stint. “
“But according to our tire analysis after the second GP at Silverstone, everything worked out well. So pressure obviously plays a big part in the equation. And with pressure, we can support the structure, maintain the structure. has vertical and lateral forces acting on the tires, and we can establish a minimum pressure which is different for each circuit and calculated according to the level of energy that is transmitted to the tire. “
However, even in the absence of failures, the higher pressures and temperatures created blistering problems. “It is also clear that the increase in pressure is accompanied by side effects such as, for example, degradation or overheating, because the gum is more stressed. […] ; in some cases there may be blistering as well. “
“And the drivers don’t want it, and we don’t want it. So if the idea is to limit downforce by taking a small step in the direction of reducing it for next year, they help. to improve the situation, they help the tires, because we can set up lower pressures. “
“And, given that we have been using the same product since last year and is to be used this year and next season, it clearly helps with tire behavior, reducing overheating, reducing degradation and by giving pilots the opportunity to push a little more. “
Pirelli also hopes to be able to modify the tire structure in preparation for the 2021 campaign and plans to conduct prototype tests at FP2 later in the season, having pushed back those planned at Silverstone and Barcelona.
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