Tag: Formula 1
Pirelli inaugurates new tyre development simulator
Pirelli has inaugurated a new driving simulator at its research and development division in Milan. The manufacturer says it is using its experience with simulation in Formula 1 to accelerate road tyre development cycles and tyre testing, reducing lead times and reinforcing partnerships with leading car makers with increased agility. Pirelli is the latest premium brand tyre maker to implement new simulation technology into its R&D department, following announcements by Michelin and Goodyear. The Italian brand adds that the new simulator is the latest instalment of its digitalisation strategy.
Pirelli: Several different factors behind retention of 2019 F1 tyres
Following the Formula 1 teams’ unanimous rejection of Pirelli’s proposed 2020 tyre specifications, the tyre maker has confirmed its intention to supply 2019 specification tyres to the 2020 F1 World Championship. Pirelli says it, the FIA and the F1 teams took “several different factors” into account in reaching this decision.
F1 vote rejects Pirelli 2020-spec tyres – 2021 18” plan ‘not affected’
Speculation that the Formula One teams may reject Pirelli’s 2020 tyre specifications has been confirmed. The FIA announced that teams voted unanimously against adopting the new 2020 specification rubber following the final test of the season in Abu Dhabi. Pirelli representatives have told Tyrepress that the FIA decision does not affect Pirelli’s future tyre developments. The exclusive tyre supplier plans to move to 18-inch tyres in the 2021 season.
Hamilton finishes emphatic F1 season as Pirelli turns to testing at Yas Marina
Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton won the final grand prix of the 2019 season with a one-stop medium-hard strategy. Red Bull's Max Verstappen in second used the same strategy at Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi, but the third-placed Ferrari of Charles Leclerc added a final soft stint to his medium-hard run plan, taking advantage of the red tyre's extra speed in the crucial closing stages of the race. Hamilton never lost the lead after gaining pole position in qualifying. He completed a hat-trick with a fastest lap on the hard tyre, which broke a lap record at Yas Marina that had stood since 2009.
Pirelli opens fifth P Zero World in Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne, Australia has become the fifth location for Pirelli’s global flagship P Zero World retail store. The new opening follows Los Angeles (2016), Munich (2017), Monaco (2018), and Dubai (2019) as the latest site for the brand’s “boutique store for tyres” concept. P Zero World stocks Pirelli’s most exclusive products alongside bespoke services for owners of sports and luxury cars.
Formula 2: Pirelli supplying 18” tyres from 2020
In 2021, Formula 1 will bid farewell to 13-inch rims and tyres with chubby sidewalls, with the switch to an 18-inch dimension taking place that season. The onus falls upon exclusive tyre supplier Pirelli to develop rubber for the 2021 F1 cars, and Pirelli says its development will be greatly aided by the adoption of the 18-inch tyre size in ‘feeder’ series Formula 2 from 2020.
Pirelli previews F1 opener, 2019 Australian grand prix
Pirelli travels to Albert Parks’ “slightly unusual” street circuit for the Formula 1 2019 season curtain-raiser in Melbourne, Australia this weekend. The exclusive tyre supplier nominated its C2, C3, and C4 compounds as the hard, medium, and soft tyres, saying that the track has a more flowing rhythm that also takes in some reasonably quick corners than stop-and-go street circuits, like Monaco or Singapore.
Pirelli 2019 Formula 1 tyres – what’s new?
Pirelli’s ninth consecutive season as the exclusive tyre supplier to Formula 1 sees the manufacturer make several changes to its tyre range. This isn’t new – Pirelli has changed its tyres somewhat every season – but the changes to this year’s compounds, making their debut on the 2019 cars in Barcelona this week, offer a few more fundamental differences than we have recently come to expect.
Liqui Moly enters Formula 1 advertising deal
The German oil and additive specialist Liqui Moly has signed an advertising deal with Formula 1. It will advertise on the race track at eleven races, one of a few select brands. “We hope that out of the more than one billion viewers who follow this spectacle on television all over the world every year, it may occur to some of them to take a closer look at Liqui Moly and purchase our products,” explains CEO Ernst Prost. Formula 1 is not new to the lubricant brand; Liqui Moly was involved with Team Jordan in the 2000s.
Pirelli confirms F1 2019 pre-season test details, compounds for first 4 grands prix
Pirelli has confirmed that all five of its slick P Zero Formula 1 compounds will be seen in testing this year. Only three colours will be used on the slick tyres’ sidewalls to help spectators distinguish between the compounds this season – white plus Pirelli’s corporate yellow and red, in order of increasing softness. At each grand prix, the hardest compound tyre will have white sidewalls, the medium yellow, and the softest red.
F1 ‘possibly the most demanding customer that we have’ – Isola
Pirelli’s agreement to supply tyres to Formula 1 for another four years follows a year in which the manufacturer confirmed it was working on a Cyber Tyre solution – Pirelli’s smart tyre development programme – for motorsport. After securing another term supplying the pinnacle of motorsport Pirelli’s car racing manager Mario Isola tells Tyres & Accessories why the tyre manufacturer was so keen to continue with its Formula 1 supply deal.
Pirelli: 4 more years with Formula 1
Pirelli will remain global tyre partner of the FIA Formula One World Championship until the end of the 2023 season after extending its current contract – which lasts until the end of the 2019 season – for a further four years. Pirelli notes that the agreement to extend the partnership was “completed in a short timeframe” on the back of the “successful partnership over recent years.”
Pirelli revises F1 tyre colour coding
Depending on how you look at it, Pirelli has either simplified its F1 tyre colour coding for 2019 or made it more complicated. Only three P Zero colours will be seen at each race next year. These will always be the same – white, yellow and red – and denote the hard, medium and soft tyre choices at every Grand Prix. But the use of just three colours doesn’t mean Pirelli will only offer three tyre compounds.
Hankook throws its hat into the Formula 1 ring
It’s official: Hankook Tire has submitted a tender for Formula 1 tyre supply between 2020 and 2023. In response to questions from within our publishing group, Felix Kinzer, director of corporate communications at Hankook Tire Europe, confirmed that the company submitted an application prior to the 31 August deadline.
Todt: 2 bids for F1 tyre supply
During last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, Jead Todt disclosed that a second tyre maker has expressed interest in becoming exclusive Formula 1 tyre supplier for the 2020 to 2023 seasons. He didn’t reveal the company’s name – he claimed not to have the information at hand – however we confirmed it wasn’t Michelin.