On February 28, Pirelli will celebrate a very special anniversary: birthday number 150. A prestigious milestone, which is accompanied by another very special anniversary, namely the 115 years since Pirelli’s first sporting victory, the Paris-Beijing in 1907.
This is the story, but above all the future is just around the corner, given that in just over a month the Barcelona tests will begin the adventure of the 18-inch Formula 1 tires. A completely new page, which coincides with one of the most substantial regulatory changes in the entire history of Formula 1.
In a videoconference held today, the head of sports activities Mario Isola introduced the 2022 season, illustrating expectations and challenges.
“The 18-inch project was conceived in a different way than in the past – explained Isola – as the objectives we have set ourselves are different. The drivers asked to be able to drive a tire that guarantees less overheating and less degradation, and it is understandable for them to want to be able to afford aggressive driving. We accepted the requests and agreed with the FIA and the FOM on the direction to follow, accepting the challenge of making a completely new tire ”.
Pirelli was able to count on the support of the teams that planned a development program on the track (with single-seaters specially modified to accommodate the first prototypes of the new generation of tires) but the cooperation with the teams went even further.
“In the last tests in Abu Dhabi – confirmed Isola – we were also able to check the behavior of the tires in traffic, since there were ten single-seaters on the track instead of the single one available in the previous tests, and we saw an improvement on the front. overheating, as well as the correct delta between the various compounds “.
At the end of 2022 performance as in 2021?
According to Pirelli, the performance of the 2022 cars could reach the end of the season to equal those of the 2021 single-seaters, an unexpected scenario only a few months ago, but which now seems far from risky.
“We have the simulations that the teams provide us – revealed Isola – and they tell us that the new cars are not much slower than last year’s cars. At the beginning there was talk of more than three seconds per lap of difference, while now that margin is between the second and half a second. I believe that if at the beginning of the season the gap is only one second, the same level of performance will be achieved in the final part of the championship as we had in 2021 ”.
Isola’s forecasts are obviously based on objective data, even if virtual. Pirelli developed a digital model of the new tires which was provided to the teams to be inserted in their simulators together with the single-seater model.
“The teams give us their feedback – confirmed Isola – and we have the opportunity to evaluate the feedback from 10 different teams. It is a process that allows us to get an idea, then the final confirmation always comes from the track “.
The ‘sustainability’ challenge
Pirelli was the first (and so far only) tire manufacturer in the world to have obtained three stars in the FIA’s Environmental Accreditation Program: a prestigious recognition for the company in terms of sustainability applied to motorsport.
Among the measures that Pirelli has taken to achieve this recognition in Formula 1 is the increased use of renewable materials, the elimination of single-use plastic from track activities and a supply chain entirely managed according to environmental and social sustainability practices.
“For two years in Formula 1 we have no longer used single-use plastics – confirmed Isola – and I add something that is also a bit funny. The uniforms we will use this year, from jackets to jackets, are made with many recycled parts, confirming that we try to use every detail to carry out our sustainability strategy “.
As regards logistics, Pirelli uses a fleet of the most recent Euro 6D trucks for the transport of tires and has chosen to send as many goods as possible by sea (transport much less polluting than by plane) thanks to an articulated logistic plan that in Formula 1 also had to win the challenge of a calendar that was not always definitive.
Pirelli’s environmental strategy will allow the company, including the motorsport division, to become completely carbon neutral by 2030, thanks to aggressive plans to replace fossil fuels with 100% renewable energy.
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