Formula One
Pirelli may be top tyre dog in Formula One these days, but Bridgestone’s 14 years as supplier to the championship have not been forgotten. Those wishing to recall the Japanese manufacturer’s Formula One glory days may well be interested in entering into Bridgestone Europe’s F1 Heritage Contest – a celebration of 14 years, 11 Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships, 175 race victories, 168 poles and 170 fastest laps.
Pirelli has donated items to a charity auction and held a donation-based simulator experience on its stand at Silverstone’s British Grand Prix, raising £6,386 for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. The auction was held on Wednesday 6 July at the F1 Party held at London’s Natural History Museum for the hospital’s Heart and Lung Centre, and Pirelli donated, among other things, a wind tunnel tyre signed by Britain’s last two Formula One World Champions: Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. Red Bull principal Christian Horner, BBC F1 presenter Jake Humphrey and man about town Vernon Kay were among those in attendance.
Varied weather and a drying Silverstone track meant a challenging race for drivers at the British Grand Prix, not least from a tyre point of view. Pirelli’s PZero Blue Intermediate compound was tested at the beginning of the race with every driver starting on the tyre, and Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery commented that the manufacturer was impressed with its competitiveness for “about 12 laps” given that areas of the track were dry and very wet while it was in use. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso claimed his – and his team’s – first win with Pirelli tyres and of the season, overcoming mixed conditions and prolonged pressure from his Red Bull adversaries, who took the second and third steps of the podium.
A testing crisis may be looming at Pirelli. The Italian tyre maker’s motorsport director Paul Hembery shared with Autosport that he foresees future issues with the Toyota TF109 Pirelli currently uses for Formula One tyre tests. “We cannot get access to current cars, and nobody wants to seem to give us an answer or a solution,” Hembery commented. “As much as Toyota has done a good job, you can only go forward so far before we have no access to testing. We want to be a good partner for the sport and we want to try and deliver the best product, but until we can test and verify our own results it is becoming a little bit more difficult."
Pirelli returns to Formula One in the United Kingdom this week for what the company says is a second home Grand Prix this season, after the Italian Grand Prix, since the company employs around 50 at its logistics and distribution facility at Didcot, 45 minutes from Silverstone by car. The 12 engineers assigned to F1’s teams and the 19 tyre fitters whose job it is to put the tyres on the rims are based there too, alongside its 12 carbon black trucks: two service trucks, seven tyre transporters, and three trucks for the hospitality unit.
Pirelli has signed on Brazilian driver Lucas di Grassi as its latest test driver. The 26-year-old will perform at least five test sessions in the Italian tyre maker’s Toyota TF109 test car later this year to provide input for the development of the latest-generation Pirelli Formula One tyres. In addition to carrying out the tests, di Grassi will attend some grands prix with Pirelli this year, starting with Silverstone, in order to collect information and pass on his experience during technical debriefs.
Pirelli has confirmed that it will take its PZero Silver hard (prime) and PZero Yellow soft (option) to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, while Formula One’s 2011 visit to the Nürburgring this year will be on the PZero White medium and PZero Yellow soft tyres and the tight and twisty Hungaroring circuit in Hungary will see the PZero Yellow soft and PZero Red supersoft tyres. Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery commented: “Our nominations are designed to maximise the opportunities for strategy and find the right compromise between performance and durability.
The Grand Prix of Europe in Valencia presented an unusually prosaic Formula One meeting, with each of the top seven drivers opting for very similar tyre strategies, saving the debuting PZero White for only their final stint. Despite a challenging track temperature of 47 degrees, both PZero tyre compounds showed strong durability, with a relatively limited degree of degradation. World Championship leader Sebastian Vettel claimed his sixth win of the year’s eight races, followed home by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Red Bull teammate Mark Webber. Vettel also set the fastest lap.
Formula One tyre supplier Pirelli is looking forward to a high-paced European Grand Prix at Valencia on its debuting PZero White medium compound tyre, but the forces acting on the tyre in the circuit’s corners and four near-300km/h straights can be some of the hardest on the tyres in the F1 calendar. A potential tyre problem at Valencia is so-called “blistering” – sections of tyre compound separating from the tread caused by overheating. While PZero tyres undergo a chemical treatment to minimise the risk of this happening, the manufacturer says that teams must concentrate on minimising sliding with tidy driving and enough downforce in order to cut the chances of tyre blisters forming.
Pirelli will introduce its new medium compound PZero White Formula One tyre in Valencia, Spain this weekend, following a testing period during free practice in Canada two weeks ago. The tyre is not quite as durable as the hard tyre seen during the first five Grands Prix of the season, but Pirelli believes it is quicker. Pirelli will also make the PZero Yellow soft tyre, which is the option tyre in Valencia.
Pirelli may now be the brand most associated with a definition of “high performance” most concerned with high speeds and quicker lap times thanks to its high profile role in the UK’s highest profile motorsport series, Formula One. Having said that, the high performance tyre segment has for a long time taken a much broader definition in commercial terms, forged by the long-term move to larger sizes and faster speed ratings on small medium and even supermini segment vehicles; Pirelli say it remains optimistic about the future of the segment, since “the word ‘performance’ is taking on a new and more relevant definition in today’s world”. The brand says its range of high performance products “has never been more relevant than it is now… there really is a high performance tyre for everyone”.
Infinity Tyres has announced that it will provide the grand prize for this year’s auction at the NTDA’s Annual Dinner: a complete Formula One package in Abu Dhabi consisting of: two flight tickets, two nights in a hotel and two tickets to the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix. Richard Edy, the NTDA’s Director, described Infinity’s gesture as a “tremendous offer, stating that: “last year, the £1,600 raised by the auction of Infinity’s prize helped us raise more than £5,000 for BEN on the night and I anticipate that the bidding for this year’s donation by Infinity will be keen and competitive. It is a truly generous gesture by Infinity and a great package for whoever ends up as the highest bidder.”
As a tyre supplier to Formula One for the last 14 years, Bridgestone has been developing ultra high performance technologies at the pinnacle of motorsport. While the technologies used in the development of F1’s slick, wet and intermediate tyres clearly do not cross over to road-going equivalents immediately, Andy Dingley, communications manager at Bridgestone UK, argues that the Japanese manufacturer’s experiences have given it a significant fillip in terms of the technologies available to its road-going UHP Potenza range, in addition to the marketing benefits associated with the brand’s exposure.
You’d be wrong to assume Pirelli has directed its entire focus towards Formula One; the Italian firm is currently allowing its presence to be felt at Pitti Immagine Uomo, an important event on the global fashion calendar. During the show, which runs between June 14 and 17, Pirelli is presenting its new Spring/Summer 2012 PZero clothing and footwear collections.
Ken Block has been given the role of Pirelli Formula One test car driver, making his first appearance on 5 August, the Italian brand announced at the Canadian Grand Prix. Block’s relationship with Pirelli began during its supply contract with the World Rally Championship and its Gymkhana programme, as Pirelli Motorsport director Paul Hembery explains: “[Ken] impressed us with his dedicated approach, his technical feedback and his unique way of marketing the sport.
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