Tire Testing Tag

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The F1 powers at be have granted an extra pre-season test day for Pirelli to develop their wet weather compounds for 2017. This comes after the company put in a request to the teams and the FIA to further develop the full wet tires before the season begins in March. It is understood that one of the 2015 mule cars developed by Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari will be used at a two day test at a so far unspecified location, likely Paul Ricard. The testRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Pirelli’s racing manager, Mario Isola has claims that the tires Pirelli will supply Formula One with in 2018, will be different from the 2017 compounds they are currently working on. Much is being made about the vast changes to the cars for 2017 that will see them lap up to five seconds quicker than in 2016, but none more so than about the much wider tires Pirelli will bring to the table. Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull were tasked with modifying 2015 cars to simulate theRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The French Grand Prix is poised to make a surprise return to the Formula One calendar in 2018, after an absence of a decade. The race, last hosted by the rural Magny-Cours circuit in 2008, will come to the Paul Ricard circuit, where the French Grand Prix was previously held between 1971 and 1990. The track is owned by Bernie Ecclestone’s family trust, but the F1 supremo has insisted that they will rent the circuit to the event promoters for the Grand Prix in order toRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Pirelli’s final tire test of 2016 wrapped up at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi today. It was the first time the modified 2015 chasis from Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari appeared together on track, and it was Pirelli’s last chance to evaluate potential tire compounds for 2017’s bigger, wider tires. Lewis Hamilton turned laps for Mercedes before withdrawing from the test due to illness. Pascal Wehrlein completed the test for Mercedes. Both Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen ran for Red Bull, while Kimi RaikkonenRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Testing resumed today for Pirelli’s 2017 Formula 1 tires. This time the tests occurred in two locations and with two teams sampling the new rubber. Ferrari got their second look at the tires with Kimi Raikkonen trying them at Circuit de Catalunya in Spain, and Mercedes drafted in Pascal Wehrlein for the team’s initial impression of the compounds by turning laps at Paul Ricard in France. Wehrlein completed 134 laps, Raikkonen a few less on 111. The laps turned by Raikkonen will provide the more crucialRead More