Pirelli has not altered F1 tyres for Zandvoort banking
Pirelli says there has been no need to alter its Formula 1 tyres for the demands of the Zandvoort banking ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend.


When the Dutch GP was first put on the 2020 calendar and plans for the track revisions were confirmed, Pirelli considered making a special tyre to cope with the extra high loadings that were expected on the re-profiled final turn.
Banking has been an issue for F1 tyres in the past, most notably with the Michelin failures at the 2005 US GP at Indianapolis that led to cars using the French products not starting the race.
However, Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola says that changes to the construction of all the company's tyres for 2020 and 2021 meant that there was no need to make a special version for Zandvoort.
"At the beginning of 2020, when Zandvoort was in the calendar for the first time, we had a very preliminary simulation," Isola said.
"The teams were not sure about what was going to happen. The track was not finalised yet, they were working on the two corners and most of the circuit.
"And now I believe we have much better information and we have a better product. So for these two reasons, we don't need to have any different construction in Zandvoort."

Nikita Mazepin, Haas VF-21
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Pirelli has brought its three hardest compounds to Zandvoort, namely the C1, C2 and C3.
Isola admits that the track, with its 18-degree banked final corner, still provides a different challenge, but says there are other circuits that are more demanding on the tyres.
"You will see the prescriptions, the prescriptions are not crazy, and are in line with other high severity circuits, both in terms of camber and the minimum starting pressure," he added.
"It is fair to say that also with the new construction that we introduce at the beginning of the year, and the new construction that we introduced at Silverstone, obviously we have a more robust tyre, and therefore we can adapt the prescriptions also considering the new product that we are using.
"That is what we have seen from simulations, it is clear that the tyres in the two corners with banking are loaded more compared to a flat corner. But then we see the absolute numbers, and we have other circuits with such level of severity.
"So, for example we have Silverstone that is more severe, we have also Spa that is more severe. The corners with banking are only two, let's say one and a half, because one is very, very short. So it's affecting the prescription, but not completely making a revolution of that."
Read Also:
Isola conceded that prior to this weekend, Pirelli had relatively limited information on the track surface.
"We have very little data honestly on that. It's also difficult when we have new circuits to send the engineers and measure the truck roughness because of the COVID restrictions.
"When we travel with F1 for an event, we have some exemptions, but when we travel by ourselves to make additional measurements, we don't have the same, so it's really hard to get data in advance."
Related video

Hamilton "on the back foot" after early end to Dutch GP practice
Verstappen insists Zandvoort F1 practice pace not representative

Latest news
De Vries cleared of wrongdoing in dispute over €250K loan
Nyck de Vries has been cleared of any wrongdoing in an Amsterdam court over a claim launched against him by real estate magnate Jeroen Schothorst relating to a €250,000 loan.
Horner admits Red Bull’s real RB19 will be ‘somewhat different’
Red Bull boss Christian Horner says the real RB19 that will appear in Formula 1 testing in Bahrain later this month will be ‘somewhat different'.
Horner hints at closer links between Mercedes and Williams F1 teams
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has hinted that there could be a closer relationship between the Mercedes and Williams Formula 1 teams in the wake of James Vowles’s move.
Ford remains committed to WRC amid F1 return
Ford has stated that it remains committed to its programme in the World Rally Championship following confirmation of its return to Formula 1 as an engine supplier from 2026.
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
How do the best races of F1 2022 stack up to 2021?
OPINION: A system to score all the grands prix from the past two seasons produces some interesting results and sets a standard that 2023 should surely exceed
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return
He has more starts without a podium than anyone else in Formula 1 world championship history, but Nico Hulkenberg is back for one more shot with Haas. After spending three years on the sidelines, the revitalised German is aiming to prove to his new team what the F1 grid has been missing
The potential-laden F1 car that Ferrari neglected
The late Mauro Forghieri played a key role in Ferrari’s mid-1960s turnaround, says STUART CODLING, and his pretty, intricate 1512 was among the most evocative cars of the 1.5-litre era. But a victim of priorities as Formula 1 was deemed less lucrative than success in sportscars, its true potential was never seen in period
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.