Lewis Hamilton’s victory on a drying track in Shanghai was garnished with a fastest lap four seconds quicker than in the 2016 race, set on the Pirelli P Zero Yellow soft compound tyre. The exclusive tyre manufacturer has promised a leap in speed equating to such improvements in lap times this season as a result of both the latest specification cars and the manufacturer’s new, larger tyres.
As of 2018, aluminium wheel manufacturer CITIC Dicastal will begin supplying rims to the Williams Martini Racing F1 team, making it the first Chinese manufacturer to produce any component for a Formula 1 racing car. Wang Jiong, vice-president of the Citic Group, told Xinhua News Agency that this cooperation not only means a huge step for Dicastal, but is also of great significance for China’s manufacturing sector.
Formula Brembo has launched an online game challenging mechanics and technicians to show their knowledge of Formula One. Run in the UK for Euro Car Parts’ customers, the game allows technicians to guess the starting grid, the top three podium places and the driver with the fastest lap for every race in the championship, with prizes available for the winners. The brake manufacturer has appointed Prova to manage all the related activities and to promote the new game throughout the 2017 championship season.
Pirelli’s three nominated tyre compounds will deal with new Formula One rules it states are among the most revolutionary in recent history when the 2017 season starts in Melbourne, Australia on 24-26 March. The tyres, which are 25 per cent wider, are expected to support cars that are around five seconds faster than in 2015, and have been designed with a new philosophy: the era of “planned degradation” is over, and the tyres will run with fewer temperature peaks. This should allow the drivers to push hard during every stint, Pirelli states.
Have you ever gazed at your car’s tyres and thought “they’re just too black for my liking”? If your answer is yes, Pirelli has something you may be interested in. The company has brought a new tyre to the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, and it features sidewall colouring similar to that seen on Pirelli’s Formula 1 tyres. This new Pirelli coloured edition is an add-on to the P Zero and Winter Sottozero ranges, and utilises materials that ensure the colour remains vivid throughout the tyre’s life. Pirelli says coloured edition tyres can be obtained in any colour the customer wants.
This year Pirelli is celebrating 110 years in motorsport and to highlight its forthcoming activities during the season, as well as celebrating the achievements of last year’s champions, the Italian tyre company once again had a significant presence at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre.
Formula One has a new owner, and while Liberty Media’s acquisition of the championship means business as usual for tyre supplier Pirelli for the time being, another familiar fixture left the stage yesterday. News of the acquisition’s completion was accompanied by the announcement that Bernie Ecclestone has stepped down as F1’s chief executive officer after 40 years in the job.
An enjoyable few minutes awaits Formula One fans with a bent for facts and figures – Pirelli has published all the numbers from the 2016 season. The statistics offer a glimpse into the logistics involved not only in supplying tyres for the flagship motorsport series, but also in keeping a wide range of protagonists and guests happy.
Yesterday, Pirelli wrapped up its 2017 Formula 1 tyre testing. The final day out of a cumulative total of 24 brought together all three ‘mule’ cars from Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari on the Yas Marina circuit. These modified 2015 cars are designed to simulate new regulations that will come into effect next year and result in speeds increasing by five seconds per lap compared to last year.
Lewis Hamilton won the last grand prix run on the current Pirelli Formula One tyre range in Abu Dhabi, but was pipped to the drivers’ championship by Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, who finished second, using identical two-stop strategies. The tyre supplier called the Yas Marina-hosted grand prix “the last race in the era of deliberately high tyre degradation”, with its latest, larger range of P Zero slicks and Cinturato wets unveiled in the emirate before the weekend’s racing began. The final development test for the 2017 will begin on Tuesday, 29 November, with Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari appearing on track together in modified 2015 mule cars.
Pirelli has unveiled its entire range of 2017 Formula One tyres in Abu Dhabi ahead of the final grand prix of the 2016 season. The new P Zero slicks have been presented in the Yas Marina paddock together with a first look at the new tread pattern for the Cinturato intermediate and wet tyres.
The FIA has told Pirelli each team’s tyre choices for the season closing grand prix of Abu Dhabi on 25-27 November. Championship leader Nico Rosberg and second-placed Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, who has a chance of pipping the German to victory, will both use the same selection: four sets of the P Zero Yellow soft, two of the Red supersoft, and seven of the Purple ultrasoft.
Despite the delays, the Brazilian grand prix became a “fantastic spectacle,” with plenty of overtaking and action on Pirelli’s wet range of Formula One tyres. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finished first, completing the full race on the Cinturato Blue full wet tyre only following two days of largely dry running at Interlagos. Hamilton won without making a racing pit stop, though he did change tyres twice, going from full wets to another set of wets under both red flag stoppages.
Liberty Media Corporation and CVC Capital Partners have announced that Liberty Media has agreed to acquire Formula One, the iconic global motorsports business, from a consortium of sellers led by CVC. Liberty Media owns interests in a broad range of media, communications and entertainment businesses.
The consideration comprises cash and newly issued shares in the Liberty Media Group tracking stock (LMCK) and a debt instrument exchangeable into shares of LMCK. The transaction price represents an enterprise value for Formula One of $8.0 billion and an equity value of $4.4 billion.
Recommencing the Formula One season following a short summer break, Pirelli will supply its P Zero White medium, Yellow soft, and Red supersoft compounds to teams at the Belgian grand prix. Held at Spa-Francorchamps on 25-28 August 2016, Pirelli calls the track “one of the most epic drivers’ circuits of them all,” comprising as it does the longest lap of the year at 7.004 kilometres, which places high energy loads through the tyres. Pirelli calls the challenge of Spa multi-faceted for the tyres with a changeable microclimate providing a constant additional parameter for the strategists to consider.
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