Pirelli debuts new tyre construction at tough Silverstone

Pirelli will roll out its new slick tyre construction this weekend at Silverstone, a track that is traditionally one of the hardest on tyres.

An increase of the performance levels of F1's 2023 ground-effect cars has compelled Pirelli to develop a more robust tyre structure that can cope with the rise in aero loads.

F1 teams had an opportunity to sample the new product in Barcelona last month, but the tyre will be formally introduced at this weekend's British Grand Prix.

"This change in specification was made necessary due to the increased performance of the cars seen since the start of the season – both in terms of outright speed and loadings – compared to the pre-season simulation data supplied to Pirelli by the teams last winter, and the fact that this trend is only set to increase as the championship goes on," explained Pirelli motorsport boss Mario Isola.

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"We’ve worked very hard on simulation over the last few years in order to not only supply a product that meets the performance targets set by all the stakeholders but also to have the ability to anticipate any eventual issues and react to them promptly."

While Pirelli's new tyre will offer better resistance, technical parameters will remain unchanged for the teams.

"The new specification also allows us to keep front and rear tyre pressures largely unchanged compared to last year, despite a significant increase in average loads," added Isola.

Pirelli's motorsport director believes Silverstone is one of the harshest environments in which to introduce its new tyre.

"This debut will come on a track that is traditionally one of the hardest on tyres," he confirmed.

"On our internal charts, Silverstone is right at the top in terms of stress and lateral forces exerted on them: particularly the front-left.

"The track also takes a lot out of the drivers, who have to cope with lateral accelerations in excess of 5g throughout its rapid corners.

"The compound choices – which, unlike the structure, are not undergoing any change in specification – are identical to previous years at least in name: C1 is the hard, C2 is the medium, and C3 is the soft.

"However, the current C1 is in fact a brand new compound for this year, which fits in between the C2 and the C0: our new name for the hardest compound in the 2022 range."

Pirelli will remain at Silverstone from July 11-12 for a slick tyre development test without tyre blankets. Taking part in the test will be Red Bull (for one day), Haas, and Williams.

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