The 2016 Pirelli test at Paul Ricard circuit

Pirelli organized a wet tyre test at Paul Ricard circuit, on January 25th and 26th.

The two-day test focused just on wet tyres (no intermediates). Different wet prototypes was tested.

Three teams took part in the test: Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren.

Here are the fastest lap times:

1. Sebastian Vettel 1.06,750 (Day 2)
2. Daniil Kvjat 1.06,833 (Day 2)
3. Stoffel Vandoorne 1.07,758 (Day 2)
4. Daniel Ricciardo 1.08,713 (Day 1)
5. Kimi Raikkonen 1.09,637 (Day 1)

Pirelli alter Brazil tyre nomination

Pirelli have revised their tyre allocation for the forthcoming Grand Prix in Brazil following track resurfacing work at the Sao Paulo circuit.

Formula One racing’s official tyre suppliers had initially planned to bring their medium and hard compounds, but will now offer their soft and medium rubber after proposals for the move gained support from the F1 teams.

“We’ve always said that we would be open to any changes if they were required,” commented Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery.

“After further technical analysis of the impact of the revised circuit surface, together with a risk assessment suggesting a low probability of compound overheating due to extreme track temperatures, we have made this change with the unanimous agreement of all 11 teams.”

At a glance - tyre compounds for 2014:
Australia - soft, medium
Malaysia - medium, hard
Bahrain - soft, medium
China - soft, medium
Spain - medium, hard
Monaco - supersoft, soft
Canada - supersoft, soft
Austria - supersoft, soft
Great Britain - medium, hard
Germany - supersoft, soft
Hungary - soft, medium
Belgium - soft, medium
Italy - medium, hard
Singapore - supersoft, soft
Japan - medium, hard
Russia - soft, medium
USA - soft, medium
Brazil - soft, medium
Abu Dhabi - super soft, soft

(source: f1.com)

Pirelli reveal tyre choices for Suzuka and Sochi

Formula One tyre suppliers Pirelli have confirmed the tyre compounds that they will take to Japan and Russia.

The Italian company will bring the two hardest compounds in their range to Suzuka - the orange-marked hard and white-marked medium - in order to cope with the high speeds, fast corners and abrasiveness of the Japanese circuit.

The choice for the brand-new Sochi circuit in Russia was much more complex, as there has not yet been any representative running on the track. 

However, using simulation data, Pirelli engineers have calculated that the most suitable compounds to take are the white-marked mediums and yellow-marked softs as this combination is capable of covering a wide range of conditions.

The choices for the final three races of the year will be announced after the 2014 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix.

At a glance - tyre compounds for 2014:
Australia - soft, medium
Malaysia - medium, hard
Bahrain - soft, medium
China - soft, medium
Spain - medium, hard
Monaco - supersoft, soft
Canada - supersoft, soft
Austria - supersoft, soft
Great Britain - medium, hard
Germany - supersoft, soft
Hungary - soft, medium
Belgium - soft, medium
Italy - medium, hard
Singapore - supersoft, soft
Japan - medium, hard
Russia - soft, medium

(source: f1.com)

Pirelli reveal tyre choices for Spain, Monaco and Canada

Pirelli have confirmed the tyre compounds that will be available for Spain, Monaco and Canada.

Formula One racing’s official tyre suppliers will bring their hardest two compounds for the fifth round of 2014, held on the high-energy Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on May 9-11.

Pirelli will then provide their red-marked supersoft compound for the first time in Monaco, alongside the yellow-marked soft compound. The same allocation will also be provided two weeks later in Canada.

The Italian tyre company said the allocations reflected the respective track characteristics, with much lighter tyre wear expected in Monaco and Canada - both of which rely heavily on mechanical grip - compared to the abrasive surface in Spain.

At a glance - tyre compounds for 2014:
Australia - medium, soft
Malaysia - hard, medium
Bahrain - medium, soft
China - medium, soft
Spain - medium, hard
Monaco - supersoft, soft
Canada - supersoft, soft

(source: f1.com)

Pirelli confirm in-season tyre test schedule

In-season testing returns to Formula One racing this season, with two-day post-race tests in Bahrain, Spain, Great Britain and Abu Dhabi, and in an agreement finalised at the recent Bahrain test, each team must dedicate one day of testing exclusively to tyre development work with Pirelli. 

The tyres that each team will use during its nominated tyre test days will be supplied by Pirelli and will not form part of their 135 allocated sets for the year. For the final test in Abu Dhabi Pirelli will supply all the teams with prototype tyres in preparation for the 2015 season.

2014 Pirelli tyre testing schedule:

Bahrain test (April 8-9)
Day 1 - Caterham
Day 2 - Mercedes and Williams

Barcelona test (May 13-14)
Day 1 - Sauber and Toro Rosso
Day 2 - McLaren and Force India

Silverstone test (July 8-9)
Day 1 - Ferrari and Lotus
Day 2 - Red Bull and Marussia 

(source: f1.com)

F1.COM: Four teams set for Bahrain Pirelli tyre test

A three-day tyre test begins on Tuesday at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC). The special session was approved by the FIA last week in order to give official suppliers Pirelli more track time to help develop their 2014-specification rubber.

The four teams taking part are Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and Toro Rosso (all 11 were invited, with McLaren and Force India also initially accepting), and drivers due in action include Nico Rosberg, Jules Bianchi and BIC lap record holder, Pedro de la Rosa. All will be at the wheel of 2013-spec cars, driving to a programme dictated by Pirelli.

The dramatic changes to the Formula One regulations for 2014, in particular reduced downforce and the move to more torquey, 1.6-litre V6 engines, means the demands placed on tyres will be very different. This week’s tyre test will be followed by three official pre-season F1 tests, starting at Jerez in Spain at the end of January.

Running for world champions Red Bull in Sakhir will be Swiss racer Sebastien Buemi, recently reconfirmed as the team’s test and reserve driver. Mercedes, meanwhile, will use Nico Rosberg. Team mate Lewis Hamilton will not attend as expected, choosing instead to focus on his winter training programme.

Ferrari will field veteran tester De la Rosa for the first two days, before Marussia racer and Ferrari Driver Academy member Bianchi gets a day in the F138 cockpit on Thursday. Finally, Toro Rosso will run their 2014 race line-up of Jean-Eric Vergne and Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat.

(source: f1.com)

The 2013 season in numbers

The Formula One teams used this year (in the winter tests and GP weekends) a total of 25 700 tires, including 2400 rain tires.

According to Pirelli the 19 races had a total of 951 pitstops including the drive-through penalties. On average, the 2013 season had about 50 pitstops per race or 2.3 per driver.

The least pitstops were seen in the Italian GP (24) which was also the fastest race in the 2013 season (1h18min). Esteban Gutierrez also made the speeding record for 2013 at Monza, Italy which was 341.1 km/h.

The fastest tire change in the history of F1 was seen in the 2013 U.S. Grand Prix on Mark Webber's Red Bull (1.923 seconds).

The season had a total of 985 overtakings, an average of 51.8 per race. In the last three seasons, the average has been 56 per race.

During the 2013 season a track record was broken once in Singapore by Sebastian Vettel. Three pole position record times were broken by Lewis Hamilton (British GP) and Sebastian Vettel (Singapore and Indian GP).

(Source: Pirelli and MTV Sport)