Formula One
The relationship between Pirelli and the Formula One teams has by no means been smooth sailing since the Italian manufacturer began as exclusive tyre supplier in 2011, yet F1 team bosses don’t appear keen to try their luck with a new partner. Money, as you might have guessed, plays an important role in this loyalty to Pirelli.
Lewis Hamilton’s victory at the British Grand Prix was inspired by an early pit stop to fit Pirelli’s Cinturato wet tyres, having conceded pole position to his Williams rivals at the start. Mercedes made the right strategy call a second time, when Hamilton was brought in for his second stop (for intermediates) just as proper rain hit the end of the grand prix.
It may be easy to forget amidst the excesses of top level motorsport, but the exclusive tyre supplier to Formula One is left with a less glamorous, but certainly vital, task in the wake of a race weekend. While F1 does not provide an immediately obvious ecological angle, perhaps the most important aspect comes in the disposal of used tyres.
It’s shaping up to be a warm weekend, and higher temperatures mean faster degradation for Formula One tyres. Therefore the two hardest tyre compounds – Pirelli’s P Zero Orange hard and P Zero White medium – have been selected for this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Pirelli has confirmed the 2015 tyre choices up to its home grand prix in Italy, with a third outing of 2015 for the P Zero Orange hard tyre at Silverstone. The fast British circuit, next on the agenda for Formula One, will see Pirelli supply its P Zero White medium too, meaning the hardest tyres in the line-up will be utilised for the second time in two years.
An early safety car at the Austrian Grand Prix made one-stop the default strategy, though with a number of grid penalties in operation, many drivers were planning long stints from the start. Chief among these was Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, who ran for 50 laps on his original set of P Zero Yellow soft tyres, ending up in the points after starting 18th on the grid, while Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel finished fourth after completing 36 laps on the P Zero Red supersoft.
Goodyear will not make a Formula One comeback in 2017, while Dunlop has reaffirmed its commitment to endurance and touring car racing. The manufacturer’s statements come on the 17 June tender deadline, following Michelin Motorsport director Pascal Couasnon’s confirmation that the French manufacturer had submitted an official application.
It appears that Michelin has thrown its hat back into the Formula 1 ring. Michelin Motorsport has retweeted comments its director made to Motorsport.com confirming its submission of a F1 tyre supply bid ahead of the 17 June tender deadline. Pascal Couasnon shared that Michelin decided to enter the running in the hope that the championship would take a new direction in regards to tyres.
During the Monaco Grand Prix, both Pirelli and Michelin demonstrated prototype 18-inch tyres for single-seat race cars. The GP2 rubber that Pirelli showed off was developed in part to demonstrate the tyre maker’s ability to adapt to future changes in regulations, including a possible switch to a wider diameter, low profile tyre in Formula One. But although Pirelli is ready to offer the top-flight championship such as tyre, Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery seems less than confident that the FIA will approve an 18-inch size for F1.
In October 2014, Michelin and Renault Sport announced they would jointly develop 17- and 18-inch diameter tyres for the single-seat Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 3.5 cars that compete in the WSR (World Series by Renault). After three quarters of a year, the partners’ conclusion is that replacing the 13-inch tyres now in use with the two larger sizes is “a first-class solution to make driving more enjoyable still for competitors.”
Prior to the start of yesterday’s Malaysian Grand Prix, Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery expected teams to make three tyre change stops during the race. Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel opted to stop only twice, and this may well have been the decisive factor in his 8.57 second victory over Lewis Hamilton. The Malaysian GP victory was the first win for Vettel and Ferrari since 2013, and this fourth victory in Malaysia – the 40th of his career – means that Vettel is now the most successful driver in the history of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
While the abrasive Sepang surface has led to Pirelli supplying its two hardest compounds – the P Zero White medium and Orange hard slicks – to Formula One’s second grand prix of the season, the likelihood of intense rain means the 2015 Cinturato wet tyres could see competitive action in Malaysia. If the slick tyres do see use, Pirelli once again anticipates lap times around two seconds quicker than in 2015, which will “exponentially increase the workload on the tyres,” explains Paul Hembery, Pirelli motorsport director.
Following its analysis of the data from the opening Australian Grand Prix, Pirelli has restated its pre-season prediction that lap times in Formula One could be two seconds faster throughout the 2015 season.
Pirelli said that its pre-season data has been backed up by lap times around two seconds quicker than 2014 at the season-opening Australian grand prix. Reigning champion Lewis Hamilton beat his Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg from pole, with both drivers utilising cool conditions and low degradation to perform very similar one-stop strategies.
Formula One teams are said to pay Pirelli around £1.4 million for a season’s worth of tyres, minus a discount for the placement of Pirelli logos on their vehicles and other sponsorship activities. A substantial cost, but a necessary one. Yet Germany’s auto, motor und sport writes that as of 11 March, three F1 teams had yet to pay Pirelli for the season that’s about to start.
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