Pirelli can deliver a gain in lap time of up to three seconds per lap under the proposed 2017 regulations, according to Paul Hembery.
New regulations are set to be introduced for 2017 onwards designed to reduce lap times by up to five seconds and make cars look more aggressive. With Pirelli having been selected as F1’s tyre supplier until 2019, it will deliver wider tyres as part of the change and Hembery says the tyre manufacturer is likely to be responsible for around 50% of the improvement in lap times.
“Well it's certainly looking like wider tyres,” Hembery said. “The actual precise dimension has changed a little bit. We're talking though of a 300mm-width front and a 400mm rear and that's staying with 13 inch rims. There's a simulation where we've now got to provide some data on what that will provide in terms of grip model for the teams so they can work out how much performance they can get from the tyre.
“It's probably two, maybe three seconds from the tyre, and then based on that they'll modify the aero regs and maybe some engine regs, I don't know, to obtain the five seconds that we're trying to achieve.”
And while the increase in tyre size helps, Hembery says Pirelli knows how to reduce lap times even with the 2015 dimensions.
“In reality even with the current tyre you could find a performance change if you went on looking for performance. There are technologies you could apply that focus more on performance, so going to a wider tyre as well means a bigger footprint so of course so that means you get more performance.”
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