The expectation to see the new Formula 1, those designed by the new technical regulations imposed by the FIA for the 2022 season, gets bigger with each passing day. But we will still have to wait several weeks before understanding and studying how they will be made and what characteristics they will have. However, we have already seen one thing: the 2022 tires.
This is not a minor detail. Indeed, it is a real revolution. After decades of 13-inch tires, 18-inch tires will be introduced in 2022. We had the opportunity to appreciate them in the 2-day test of Yas Marina, staged after the last event of the 2021 World Championship that crowned Max Verstappen and Mercedes as champions. of the world.
Why are we talking about revolution? Of course, the size of the tires and rims changes drastically compared to those used until the end of the 2021 season. But there is much more. All this will lead to a very different behavior of the tires, of the cars and also of the way of driving of the drivers. Tires are often a key factor in every World Championship. Whoever interprets them best, on a technical and driving level, has an objective advantage.
For this reason we have decided to collect all possible information on 18-inch tires to try to present you what will be one of the great news of the next Formula 1 season. To accompany you on this journey to discover the 18 “Pirelli, we asked Mario Isola, Pirelli’s car racing manager, to open the casket that contains the secrets of the new creations of the Milanese manufacturer.
“The teams had all the compounds in the new range available and used them all by doing both qualifying and race simulations. I have to say that, in general, we found the performance delta between the compounds in line with our development tests. “.
“We can therefore say that the numbers were in line with what we also saw in the development tests carried out during the year”.
“Clearly the harder compounds, therefore C1 and C2, were not suitable for Abu Dhabi. Usually on that track we use C3, C4 and C5, the softer compounds for the type of track it is. In general, therefore, however much it is. concerns C1 and C2, the grip was low, but we noticed that they were very, very consistent “.
There was understeer, but the teams are calm
One of the first characteristics, if not the greatest that the drivers noticed right from the start, is the understeering character of the new Pirelli tires. “The comment of all the riders was related to understeer. In fact, it seems that our rear tires are strong, that is, they push the front a lot. The general feedback, in fact, spoke of understeer.”
“We have to consider that the teams rode with mule cars, cars adapted for 18” tires and the set-up possibilities were limited. In some cases, even if the teams worked on the set-up of the single-seaters, the understeer did not disappear precisely because of the strength of the rear tires “.
“Speaking to the teams, they think they can balance the new cars quite easily. They told me they are not worried about understeer at all and that they knew that with the new cars they would expect to have some. So they don’t seem like it. be worried “.
Reduced pressures in the front tires
“Analyzing the data received from the teams we saw that we had a margin in tire pressure, especially in the front ones. So we added the possibility to decrease the front pressure for Yas Marina’s tests by 1.5 psi. This was useful to reduce understeer thanks to a greater footprint of the tread and less graining. This worked above all on the C3 (those that would be considered the Hard in the race, ed) “.
“We still have some graining that occurred on the C4s and C5s, but they are the softer compounds, so it makes sense. With the reduction in front pressures, however, the C3s worked better.”
Tires 2022: low pressures, different temperatures of the electric blankets
The different size of the 2022 tires compared to the 13-inch tires and the different construction will lead to lower starting pressures than in recent seasons. At the Abu Dhabi GP, for example, Pirelli had indicated the pressures to be had at the start of 23.0 psi at the front and 21.0 psi at the rear. In tests, however, these were lowered to 20.0 psi at the front and 17.5 psi at the rear.
“We know that the 18-inch tires, the new, lower and stiffer shoulders and the more robust construction give the ability to drop the pressure to 17.5 psi, which is quite low compared to the pressures dictated for the 13-inch tires.” .
That’s not all, because not only the starting pressures will change. Teams will have to get used to lower tire pressures. This will also have an impact on the drivers’ work, because they will have to warm up the tires in a different way than what they have done up to now.
“We are using tire warmer temperatures that we have decided to introduce from 2022,” continued Isola. “This means that the front tires will be heated to 70 degrees and no longer to 100 degrees. The rear tires will also be heated to 70 degrees, compared to the eighty used until the end of 2021. So, from next year, all electric blankets will have the temperature of 70 degrees “.
“This temperature was already used in the development tests of the 18 tires. We noticed that in some cases the riders had to work a lot to get the C1 compounds up to temperature. This means, in practical terms, a couple of laps. to have them ready, in the right window of use. But we know that C1 tires are not suitable for the Abu Dhabi track. “
“As for the C2 compound it was a little easier. As for C3, C4 and C5, the ideal ones for Yas Marina, no one complained about the warm-up and no one had problems in the launch lap and preparation of the eraser”.
Pirelli has tried to design the 2022 compounds with a wider window of use, but without sacrificing the heating phase of the same: “We did this because we knew we wanted to go down with the temperatures of the electric blankets. So this is a confirmation of what we have. found during tire development tests “.
Grip in line with 13 “, but more consistent
We have already talked about the behavior of the 18-inch tire a few chapters above, but it is also good to evaluate the quality of grip compared to the 13-inch ones. Mario Isola has opened an interesting scenario in this regard.
“If we look exclusively at grip, the 2022 tire is in line with the 13” tire, but is more consistent thanks to the new range of compounds. All this derives from the philosophy used in the design “.
How much the brakes will change in 2022
“We asked the teams to use maximum cooling for both the front and rear,” said Isola. “Because looking at next year’s simulations with the flows going inside, they shouldn’t be able to use the heat from the brakes to heat the rim.”
“There is a lot more space, but the brakes are also designed with different flows. Now we are also evaluating another feature of next year’s brakes, because between the rim and the brake there is a space where there is air to a certain temperature, so depending on whether you seal it or not, you can have different temperatures “.
“But this year, during the tire test, we told them to use maximum cooling. The point was that starting from 21.5 psi at the front but with a deck temperature that is 30 degrees lower than this one. ‘year, the pressure increase was quite high. “
“Basically the working pressure – I’m not telling you the number because I don’t want to release any team’s confidential information – but consider that they were running a good number of psi, 4-5 psi more than the starting pressure, due to this. delta in the temperature of the blanket “.
“Next year with a new type of drums, a new type of brakes, I think they are in a much better position to control the heat going from the brakes to the tire and also the temperature of the deck starting at 70”.
Test on useless wheel covers (for now …)
During the two days of testing at Yas Marina we saw another novelty linked to the 18 “tires. These are wheel covers, which are once again used in Formula 1 after more than 12 years.
“Some teams have decided to try the wheel covers in some simulations on the track, but these tests, however, are not really representative. First of all because of the brakes, which were not the 2022 ones. So, if you fit the wheel trim, the temperature it rises a lot and the heat exchange between brake and rim is not very manageable. Next year, however, with the new brakes that will not transfer heat to the rim, then they will have a different function than what we saw in the Yas Marina tests “.
Less overheating, more possibilities to push
Over the years, the riders have complained on several occasions about the excessive overheating of the 13 “tires. With the arrival of the 2022 tires, Pirelli has tried to reduce the effect, giving the riders the opportunity to push harder without having to worry. too much of the excessive temperature reached by the compounds being used in a given situation.
“The riders said they could push. If we take the C3 compound as a reference, which is probably the most representative at Yas Marina, the level of grip was good. The riders could push without overheating or degradation. Surely everything went better. compared to 13-inch tires “.
“Honestly, I’m curious to see how the tires work on next year’s cars. The aerodynamic package will be different, as will the level of downforce at different speeds. So we’ll need to understand how it works.”
“But I can imagine that the new single-seaters will have less downforce in low-speed corners, and more in high-speed corners. This will change the balance of a lap on the track. These are factors that are impossible to replicate on mule cars, because they had related configurations. at the time of their design. In short, they did not have the ground effect that the new single-seaters will have “.
Heavier tires, harder braking
After having made a broad overview of the tires that will be used in Formula 1 starting in 2022, we can tell you more. Pirelli received various feedbacks from the riders, even beyond the understeering character already mentioned earlier in this article.
But let’s go into detail. Mario Isola pointed out that the braking phase could be more complex: “It will be a bit more difficult and it will be easier to see lockouts. The riders felt the weight of the tires. Each front rim is 2.5 kilograms heavier than the those of 13 “. The rear ones of 3 kilograms. So this affects the sensations and the hardness of the steering wheel “.
“That’s not all, because straight-line traction is also very good. In some cases there has been oversteer, but only in some, limited situations. This is in line with the fact that understeer tends to use more angle of steering and, when you lose grip at the rear, the car is more nervous, snappy. So it is consistent with the comments we have received “.
Drivers like George Russell, Lewis Hamilton’s new Mercedes teammate, praised the new tires by calling them: “Nice to drive”. They will certainly be more difficult, especially in the first races of the season. But for the best riders in the world it will be just another, beautiful, challenge.
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