The FIA has granted Pirelli Motorsport’s request to introduce a new specification slick tire. The request was made under article 10.8.3 of the Formula 1 technical regulations and the tire will come into play at the 2023 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, July 7-9.
Due to the significant increase in the speed and downforce of this season’s cars (based on a comparison of the first races and pre-season simulation data supplied by the teams), Pirelli Motorsport’s new specification tire features materials originally planned for use in the 2024 season.
The tire manufacturer anticipates that vehicle performance will continue to increase as the season progresses.
“We’ve seen how much more performance the 2023 cars have compared with last year throughout the opening races of this season, and that is thanks to the extraordinary pace of development shown by all 10 of the teams,” commented Mario Isola, head of motorsport at Pirelli. “In Miami, for example, the pole time was nearly two seconds faster than last year, and the same sort of progress has been seen during races as well.
“Pirelli’s simulation work has always been aimed at not only supplying a product that hits the performance targets specified by stakeholders, but also anticipating any potential problems and reacting to them quickly,” continued Isola. “The new specification contains materials that we have already developed for 2024, which will make the tires more resistant without affecting any of the other technical parameters or their behaviors on track.
“To allow all the teams to test the new construction on a level playing field, Pirelli will supply two extra tire sets per car to be used during FP1 and FP2 at the Spanish Grand Prix [June 2-4, 2023].”
