A ridiculous story for 2020
After months of testing, the F1 teams have finally decided not to make any changes: the tires used next year will be the same as this year's, much to Pirelli's dismay.
Here is typically the kind of back-and-forth that doesn’t enhance F1’s image. Throughout the season, Pirelli conducted a series of five test sessions to develop its tires for the 2020 season, as teams were fiercely critical of the tires’ excessively narrow operating window. The Haas team spent the entire season explaining that its lack of competitiveness was closely linked to how its tires performed on their car.
In the wake of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the teams then had the opportunity to conduct a final testing session to allow a comparison under identical conditions between the weekend and the data collected during this last session. At the end of these two days of testing, Mario Isola, the competition director of the Italian manufacturer, stated: « When taking into account the expected evolution of the cars for next season, we remain convinced that the tire construction for 2020 is the best solution. However, we are obviously open to continuing to work with the 2019 tires if that is what the majority of the teams desire. »
Less than a week later, the verdict was in: the teams unanimously voted that they preferred to keep the 2019 specifications, rather than embark on changes for the last year of the current regulations. Indeed, it is expected that the 2021 rims will finally switch to the 18” format, more compatible with the specifications required today for grand touring vehicles.
One of the reasons cited for this decision is that teams will no longer be required to modify the architecture of their cars to accommodate the new tire structure. Pirelli argues that this has the merit of not stopping the developments already underway, but they will inevitably be challenged.
We can only regret that the different stakeholders made such a decision so late in the process, with very substantial budgets ultimately resulting in no improvement to the status quo, which satisfied no one. In this context, F1 and the FIA find it convenient to make grand declarations of intent for the discipline to become more sustainable… Following this first communiqué, Pirelli took the opportunity to announce its choices in its range of tires for the first four events of next season, as overseas destinations require a minimum lead time of 14 weeks to meet production and logistics challenges.
With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr
