Why did you test rain tires in Barcelona?
If you have been closely following the winter tests, you will not have missed it: on the third day of testing at the Barcelona circuit, the track was watered so that teams could test the new rain tires. A request from Pirelli, who wanted to test its new compounds on the single-seaters.
During the winter tests, Pirelli scheduled a slot on Friday afternoon to test its intermediate and wet tyres. Six tanker trucks were used to water the track at the Circuit de Barcelona so that the teams could fit grooved tyres on their cars. This choice was justified by Pirelli’s competition director, Mario Isola. « We want to test the intermediate and wet tyres before the start of the season. With the changes this year, it wouldn’t be smart to begin the season without testing the tyres on the actual race cars, even if we tested them on development vehicles. »
The switch from 13-inch to 18-inch tires this year raised a number of questions for Pirelli. The Italian brand also has to take into account the deflector that appeared above the tire with the new regulations.
« We have the small deflector on the front tires, which is very close to the tire. The rain tire, for example, has a diameter 10 millimeters larger than the slick tire. We must ensure that there is no contact between the deflector and the tire, so that there are no issues with the new cars,” Mario Isola explained before the test began.
The manufacturer also wanted to ensure smooth transitions between the different compounds. « Therefore, [it is necessary to test] to evaluate the transition time between wet and intermediate tires. The transition time is really important to make sure there is an overlap between two rubbers and not a gap. A gap is dangerous, as it means you don’t have tires suitable for the conditions, and we want to avoid that. » Mario Isola emphasized.
The tests on wet tracks did not show any problems with Pirelli’s new tires, which are not expected to be used in the season opener under the heat of Bahrain.
