Pirelli is going to test “super intermediate” tyres
Mario Isola, director of Pirelli's racing division, wants to create a new intermediate tyre to provide more visibility for the drivers.
Rain is a curse for F1. The single-seaters only have two different ranges of tires when the track becomes wet. The majority of drivers mainly use intermediate tires, while avoiding using rain tires.
For the 20 drivers on the grid, it is more advantageous to use intermediates rather than wet tires to be faster. Wet tires are also more dangerous for visibility, as their deep grooves eject a significant amount of water.
During the last race weekend in Belgium, the drivers completed several formation laps to ensure more safety on the track. A situation that does not please Mario Isola, the director of Pirelli Motorsport. « If the idea is to stay in the current situation, which means that if there is a lot of water on the track, there is a red flag or a safety car because it is not possible to drive due to visibility. So, in my opinion, the best solution is probably to develop an intermediate tire, let’s call it “Super Intermediate” or “Intermediate+” or any name you want to use », Mario Isola asserts.
One possibility only
« Therefore, we can cover, with a single product, from the acceptable limit for visibility to the point of crossing with dry conditions. If you have a smaller or narrower tire, this means better resistance to aquaplaning, continues the director of the tire manufacturing company. »
To create this “super intermediate”, the director of Pirelli wishes to change the tire size in order to prevent aquaplaning. However, this dimension change could have consequences on the balance of the single-seaters.
« We have had discussions in the past, but it was decided to keep the same size because of the rims. Currently, the teams use the same rims for dry, intermediate, and wet tires. The standard rims are used for all three sets of tires because of the balance. It is important to consider that changing the size would alter the balance. A car that is balanced on dry surfaces may become unbalanced on wet surfaces. »
The teams requested an increase in the diameter of the wet tires to prevent the cars from being affected by aquaplaning «. The only request was to increase the diameter of the intermediate tire by five millimeters and the diameter of the wet tire by ten millimeters, in order to raise the car slightly and prevent it from touching stagnant water with the floor », the director concluded.
