As a result of drivers expressing safety concerns following the tyre test for the United States Grand Prix 2023, Formula 1 is planning to change the scheduled reduction in maximum tyre blanket temperatures to keep it at 50 degrees Celsius for the upcoming season. This change was made in response to driver feedback.
Pirelli has suggested that the temperatures of tyre blankets be lowered in 2022 and 2023 as part of the preparation for the possible prohibition of the blankets in 2024, which is when the ban would come into force if it were to be implemented. This resulted in a decrease from a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius at the front and 80 degrees Celsius at the back the previous year to a temperature of 70 degrees Celsius at the front and rear this season, with the reduction to 50 degrees Celsius scheduled for the next year.
But after putting the prototype 2023 tires through their paces in Austin, Texas, where the temperature was a constant 50 degrees Celsius, the drivers discovered that the warm-up time was problematic, characterized by low levels of grip and a substantial risk of crashes. During the testing that took place in Austin, this was shown to be the case.
As a direct result of this, Pirelli made the decision to carry out the tire test in Mexico at a temperature of 70 degrees Celsius; however, the warm-up time limit at that level was reduced from three hours to two hours in order to satisfy lowered energy consumption criteria.
Isola gave this response in response to a query about the criticism levied against the performance of the prototype tyres at Austin: “We listen to drivers.” The question was posed by The Race.
“Although I do not believe that it is dangerous, we did have some difficulties during the warm-up in Austin, which was a high-energy circuit. Or, at the absolute least, the warm-up at 70 degrees Celsius was still quite vivid in their memories, and if you test the tyre when it is only 50 degrees Celsius, you could notice a substantial difference.
“After listening to the drivers, we started to consider that if Austin is a high-severity circuit with very good weather conditions and they had an issue with a warm-up, what happens at street circuits, low-severity circuits with smooth Tarmac, or in poor conditions?” “If Austin is a high-severity circuit with very good weather conditions and they had an issue with a warm-up, what happens at street circuits, low-severity circuits with smooth Tar “After hearing what the drivers had to say, we began to wonder, “If Austin is a high-severity track with really favorable weather conditions, and they had a difficulty with a warm-up, then what occurs at street circuits?”
The year 2024 has been chosen as the deadline for the complete ban, and the plan has always been to move in this direction step by step. The plan is still in effect, but it appears that 50 degrees Celsius is not an appropriate alternative for the next year based on the results of the test that was conducted in Austin.
We determined that the tyre needs to be warmed up for two hours at a temperature of 70 degrees Celsius; consequently, we have an extra hour at our disposal to simply keep the temperature stable. Since we have some blankets in Milan that we used for our test, we produced some estimates on the amount of energy that was used by taking into consideration various possibilities.
“If, instead of going down to 50°C, we cut one hour [of the currently-permitted three hours at 70°C], we found that it is a lot more efficient, we save more energy, and we don’t have any difficulty with the warm-up. This is because we don’t have to lower the temperature by as much as we would if we went down to 50°C. This is because we cut the duration by a third, so that the drivers may keep pushing outdoors as they have been doing it up until now.
When we put the blankets through their paces in Mexico, we decided to test them at temperatures of 70 degrees Celsius for just two hours rather than three. This was because of the previous point.
After the second practice session in Mexico presented fewer challenges, positive driver comment was received on the effect of maintaining blanket temperatures of 70 degrees Celsius. Given the responses that drivers gave to the Austin test, it is not surprising that the idea to extend this over into 2023 has garnered popular support. Lando Norris, who drives for McLaren, stated that “no driver wants that, really,” in reference to the blanket temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius.
Isola was there for the briefing for the drivers that took place in Mexico on Friday evening. She said that “everyone indicated we want to shoot for the 70°C for two hours” in the year 2023.
The construction of Pirelli’s tyres for the 2023 season has already been finalized. The tyres are designed to have stronger fronts that reduce the understeer balance that arose with this year’s tyres. The compounds need to be finalized as soon as possible in order to test the definitive specification after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The modification is considered to be a transitional move for the year 2023, with the tyre-blanket ban still scheduled to go into effect in the year 2024. As a consequence of this, the tyres that Pirelli manufactures for the year 2024 will not be a development of the ones that they have manufactured for the year 2023; rather, they will be an entirely new creation.
Isola expressed his viewpoint by saying, “My conviction is that the optimum strategy is to go for 70°C and two hours,” which he shared with the audience.
“The information that we were able to get in Austin will be of great use to us as we go on with our efforts to produce the chemicals.
“We are aware that in order to completely do away with blankets by the year 2024, we will be required to take a very large move in the right direction. It is not merely a question of completely reworking the structure; rather, it is a matter of reworking each of the five compounds individually.
“And now we have a test plan, which we have began talking about with the FIA and FOM, and we will soon be talking about it with the teams to see whether it is practical.” “And now we have a test plan.” It is very clear that we must carry out our tests in line with the strategy.
The teams have also expressed their support for the idea, as they feel it would make it easier for them to face the challenge of tyre warm-up in Mexico if it were implemented.
The Alpine sports director Alan Permane lauded the return of blanket temperatures of 70 degrees Celsius as a “good trend,” and he was optimistic about the future of the sport.
“The difference between here in Mexico and Austin is that we ran the tyres at 70°C but heated them for two hours,” remarked Permane. “This is the difference between here in Mexico and Austin.” The location referred to in “Here in Mexico” is Mexico. The city of Austin in Texas is referred to by its name. “Mario from Pirelli has informed us that 70 degrees Celsius for two hours is similar to, or possibly considerably less than, 50 degrees Celsius for three hours. Typically, our heat time is three hours; however, Mario has informed us that this is not the case.
“It would seem that they have already found a reasonable balance from Austin, which is where our drivers, most notably Fernando [Alonso], indicated that it is incredibly risky. So it would seem that they have already created a fair balance from Austin. He had the distinct impression that he was losing his grip, and you could see some power sliding away from him as well as other things of the same kind, both of which are things that you hardly never observe occurring.
“As a result, I think that they have found a great trajectory, which is one that we will hopefully be able to take over into the next year,” said the speaker.
The recommendation to keep the maximum blanket temperature at 70 degrees Celsius throughout the next year was endorsed by Dave Robson, who is the head of vehicle performance at Williams.
This is due, in part, to the fact that teams will have less opportunities to make improvements to their 2023 cars in order to make them more compatible with the requirement that the tyres begin at a colder temperature. This will make it more difficult for teams to compete.
Robson had the following response when questioned by The Race over this suggestion: “As an intermediate, that definitely is extremely plausible.” “Not the least of which is that the majority of the specifics about the vehicle for the next year have been created; these specifics are not necessarily set in stone, but we’re quite a ways down [the road],” she said. “Not the least of which is that the majority of the specifics about the vehicle for the next year have been created.”
You may say something along the lines of, “The ramifications of the blanket temperature restriction of 50 degrees Celsius were brought home to us in Austin.” In the event that they decide to go on in that fashion, and in the event that the conclusion is the same for everyone, then the game will not be the same as the one that we had envisioned.
The commentator said that the most difficult aspect is that the cars aren’t actually constructed to function well with such a low amount of grip straight after they are taken out of the garage. “That’s when things become complicated.” No matter how hard you attempt to apply the brakes, contemporary automobiles are just not designed to work in such a way, regardless of how much pressure you put on them.
“Perhaps if you gave it a little more consideration and had a better idea of what it means to have 50°C blankets for the first few laps of the stint, you might adjust a few things.” “Perhaps if you gave it a little more consideration and had a better idea of what it means to have 50°C blankets for the first few laps of
“Obviously, in addition to doing those tire tests, we simply stuck to the run plan that Pirelli gave for us. Nevertheless, if our aim had been to obtain the maximum possible level of performance, we may not have done that.” They just requested that we go out and exert as much pressure as we can on the limited fuel supply, and they also indicated that we should be a little bit more strategic in the manner in which we brought the tires in.
It’s going to be difficult to finish that run plan with the cars in the condition they’re in right now while they’re wrapped in a blanket that’s heated to 50 degrees Celsius.
Tom McCullough, who is the director of performance at Aston Martin, stressed the cost factor of the argument against blanket temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius. He said that this temperature would have a negative impact on performance.
The fact that it took up to four laps for the tires to warm up at Austin means that this would have increased the amount of warm-up running that was necessary.
When questioned by The Race if it would be preferable to avoid dropping to maximum temperatures of 50 °C the next year, McCullough said, “It all has to do with the product.”
“If the tyres are able to switch on fast and operate, as well as not overheat and cause issues later in the stint, then bring it on. However, the tires that we tested in Austin required anything from two to four laps before they reached a position where they were usable.
“They responded to that, so we moved to the higher blankets for a shorter period of time. This worked extremely well around the very low-grip, low-tyre energy track,” he said.
“I haven’t talked with Pirelli about that [maintaining the 70°C limit for the next year], but I assume that’s the direction we’re going to go.
“Driving around for three or four circuits is an extremely expensive method of heating up tyres,” said the mechanic.