Pirelli plans major Formula 1 tyre choice revamp for 2017
Pirelli is considering introducing extra variations within its current Formula 1 tyre compound range in a bid to improve the show, AUTOSPORT can reveal
The idea is initially dependent on the Italian manufacturer being awarded a new supply contract, with its current deal expiring after 2016 and the FIA's tender process ongoing.
Pirelli wants to answer complaints it has veered from its original brief of two-to-three-stop grands prix, down to one or two at present.
The plan is Pirelli will retain its current range of dry tyres - hard, medium, soft and super-soft - but within each compound there will be options, likely as many as three, so it can fine-tune tyre selections for each circuit's characteristics. The present tyre labelling system would remain.
"It's something very hard to do, but if we are to remain in the sport for '17 we could really look at doing something like this," Pirelli motorsport chief Paul Hembery told AUTOSPORT.
"If we were able to choose from a wider range then we'd have more certainty to deliver the two-to-three-stop races.
"As far as the public is concerned it would be a hard and a medium tyre, let's say, at a certain type of race.
"But we would be able to choose from three versions of the hard and three versions of the medium.
"Or to be more current, the super-soft we've just seen in Monaco and Canada would be quite different to the super-soft you would see in Singapore.
"To the outside world, though, it is simply a super-soft tyre because four compounds is more than enough.
"For the public, I don't think we need to do anything different as it would just create confusion. It would be too complex.
"The fans have only just got used to what they see now, they like the colours, they get that and they are quite easy to see.
"That works so you don't really want to create any more variation on that."
F1's Strategy Group has mooted giving teams free choice of tyre compounds at each grand prix in 2016, a proposal Pirelli is against.
A return to refuelling would also open up new avenues for Pirelli, although following a meeting of F1's team managers with FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting in Montreal last week there is no appetite for it to happen.
Despite that, Hembery added: "If we go to refuelling, which is another topic going around and has been discussed a few times, again we could also take a different approach.
"We could be very aggressive if you know someone is going to be doing a fixed number of laps every time."
Previous article
Williams F1 team aims to pressure Ferrari with Austrian GP upgrade
Next article
Sauber says Formula 1 now 'practically impossible' for new teams
The ‘backwards step’ that is the right move for Formula 1
OPINION: With its days apparently numbered, the MGU-H looks set to be dropped from Formula 1’s future engine rules in order to entice new manufacturers in. While it may appear a change of direction, the benefits for teams and fans could make the decision a worthwhile call
The floundering fortunes of F1’s many Lotus reboots
Team Lotus ceased to exist in 1994 - and yet various parties have been trying to resurrect the hallowed name, in increasingly unrecognisable forms, ever since. DAMIEN SMITH brings GP Racing’s history of the legendary team to an end with a look at those who sought to keep the flame alive in Formula 1
Why the 2021 title fight is far from F1's worst, despite its toxic background
OPINION: Formula 1 reconvenes for the Russian Grand Prix two weeks after the latest blow in ‘Max Verstappen vs Lewis Hamilton’. While the Silverstone and Monza incidents were controversial, they thankfully lacked one element that so far separates the 2021 title fight from the worst examples of ugly championship battles
How F1’s other champion to emerge from 1991 thrived at Lotus
Mika Hakkinen became Michael Schumacher’s biggest rival in Formula 1 in the late-90s and early 2000s, having also made his F1 debut in 1991. But as MARK GALLAGHER recalls, while Schumacher wowed the world with a car that was eminently capable, Hakkinen was fighting to make his mark with a famous team in terminal decline
The forgotten F1 comeback that began Jordan’s odyssey
Before Michael Schumacher – or anyone else – had driven the 191 (or 911 as it was initially called), Eddie Jordan turned to a fellow Irishman to test his new Formula 1 car. JOHN WATSON, a grand prix winner for Penske and McLaren, recalls his role in the birth of a legend…
The squandered potential of a 70s F1 underdog
A podium finisher in its first outing but then never again, the BRM P201 was a classic case of an opportunity squandered by disorganisation and complacency, says STUART CODLING
The other notable Monza escape that F1 should learn from
OPINION: The headlines were dominated by the Italian Grand Prix crash between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, who had the halo to thank for avoiding potentially serious injury. But two days earlier, Formula 1 had a lucky escape with a Monza pitlane incident that could also have had grave consequences
How Monza only added more questions to F1's sprint race conundrum
With two sprint races under its belt, Formula 1 must now consider its options for them going forward. While they've helped deliver exciting racing on Sundays, the sprints themselves have been somewhat lacking - creating yet another conundrum for F1 to solve...
