LE CASTELET, France — Pirelli Tyre has wrapped up testing for the 18-inch rim-diameter race tires it will supply Formula 1 teams starting in 2022, replacing the 13-inch format that's been used for decades.
Based on its testing over the past couple of years, Pirelli has developed five compounds it will homologate for next year, Mario Isola, head of F1 and car racing for Pirelli, said.
The move to 18 inches, which Pirelli first proposed in 2014, required a clean-sheet design, with engineers "rethinking every element of the low-profile tire" from the profile to the structure to the compounds, Mr. Isola said.
The tire maker carried out 28 days of track testing for the new tires throughout 2021, complementing the eight test days carried out at year-end 2019 and beginning of 2020, before COVID-19 delayed the program.
The development campaign also involved more than 10,000 hours of indoor testing, more than 5,000 hours of simulation and more than 70 prototypes developed virtually, along with 30 physical specifications tested on-track by the drivers.
On-track testing exceeded 12,500 miles and consumed 1,568 tires (392 sets of four), Pirelli said.
The 10 F1 teams are scheduled to test the 2022-spec tires the week of Dec. 12, after the 2021 season-ending race at Abu Dhabi.