Pirelli open to discussions over use of three tyre compounds

Pirelli

Pirelli open to discussions over use of three tyre compounds

Calls for new tyre rules to spice up racing have returned this season

Ewan Gale

Monday 20 September 2021 15:00

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Pirelli motorsports boss Mario Isola has confirmed he is open to discussing the use of all three tyre compounds in F1 races despite previously abandoning the idea.

Drivers are currently mandated to use two of the three available compounds during a grand prix, with Pirelli dictating the variety allocated to each team per weekend.

With races becoming stagnant in terms of tyre strategy as drivers usually eke out stints to make one-stop plans work, the idea of two mandatory stops to use all three compounds has again been floated.

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Asked if the option had been previously discussed, Isola replied: "Yeah, it was discussed a couple of years ago.

"The conclusion was that forcing the drivers to use the three compounds, the result can be that everybody is just converging on the same strategy.

"So any time that you give more constraint, you have everybody doing the same, that is not in the spirit of what we want to achieve.

"It means a mix of one- and two-stop strategies using the three different compounds and so on and so on, not having everybody stopping at the same lap and changing the tyres using the same sequence of compounds.

"So, that’s why the idea was abandoned a couple of years ago. Obviously, it is something we can discuss for the future but I believe that, as I said, we need a regulation that is easy to understand also for spectators.

"Obviously encouraging different strategies but not making it complicated too much with a lot of different constraints and so on, and so on. That’s probably the target for the future."

Pirelli expecting testing difference with 2022 cars

Pirelli has set in stone the tyre compounds for the new era in 2022 when 18-inch tyres will be introduced to F1 after an extensive testing programme.

Isola is expecting a variance in information once the tyres are tested on 2022 cars but does not expect issues to arise.

"Let’s see what happens with the new cars because, as you know, we develop the 2022 tyres with the mule cars that the teams supplied for testing," added Isola.

"We are expecting higher loads with the new cars, so obviously this has an impact on the tyres. Nothing major. It’s a normal evolution that is coming from the teams.

"Now we are preparing the post-season test in Abu Dhabi where all the teams have the opportunity to test the final version of the product for next year and get important information and this is where we are at the moment."