Pirelli justifies returning racing to one stop in F1

As part of the new F1 regulations for 2022 that will see ground effect cars return, official tire supplier Pirelli is also switching to 18-inch wheels.

The change, coupled with the desire to have tires that are not as sensitive to overheating , has led to the compounds being slightly harder.

That will likely lead to less degradation, which in turn opens the door for teams to make fewer pit stops.

While Formula 1 bosses don’t love one-stop racing, Pirelli F1 director Mario Isola believes that fewer pitstops won’t cut into the spectacle if there are spectacular battles on the track.

“I hope we don’t have less strategic variability,” he said. “The idea and the way we have designed the tires is to continue to have different strategies, with a combination of one and two stops.

“It’s also true that with a new product with less degradation, we may have fewer pit stops and most races could be one stop.

“For me, it’s not a problem as long as we have good racing and action on the track. We have to have drivers who can push to overtake, who don’t have it too easy, it’s important that the drivers have to push hard to overtake. That’s exactly what viewers want.

“There is a survey done by F1 on that and most of the feedback on it is that viewers don’t want easy overtaking, they want action on track and they want battles.

Isola is clear that Pirelli’s philosophy with the 2022 tires is different from the previous one, as they are now looking for the characteristics that the drivers themselves have asked for.

“This tire is designed in a different way, with different goals,” he said. “The drivers ask for less overheating and less degradation. They want to squeeze the tires, they want to fight on the track.”

“We decided, and we agreed with the FIA, the FOM and the teams, to go in this direction. So we had to design a new profile, a new construction, optimize the footprint and design a new range of compounds. It’s a completely new product with a new focus”.

But despite hopes that the new tires will work as intended, Isola says an effort will be made to improve things further for 2023.

“I hope we don’t have too many difficulties,” he added. “I think we are already planning a development project during 2022, since we never stop development, to be ready in 2023 with an improved version.”

“If, for example, this year we find that we have to change, maybe a compound, or the lap time is not exactly what we expected, or the level of degradation is not exactly what we expected, we have a backup plan to be confident that we are approaching the targets and achieving the targets for 2023.”

But he believes that if Pirelli pulls it off, and the 2022 car rules work and allow cars to track each other more closely without losing performance, then F1 could have a great season.

“These targets, lap time, degradation, etc, have been decided on a table, together,” he said. “So we think with these numbers, with the simulation, we will have better racing. Yes, maybe less pit stops, but more action on the track.”

“But these are assumptions that we have to confirm later on the track. And, if for any reason, we need to change something for 2023, we will be ready again with these working groups.”

Photos: F1 cars (mulet) with 18-inch tires at the Abu Dhabi test

Sebastian Vettel, adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes W10 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes W10 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes W10 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes W10 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes W10 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes W10 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images

Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo Racing C39 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari SF90 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari SF90 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Fernando Alonso, Alpine/Renault RS18 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Fernando Alonso, Alpine/Renault RS18 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Fernando Alonso, Alpine/Renault RS18 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Fernando Alonso, Alpine/Renault RS18 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Fernando Alonso, Alpine/Renault RS18 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes W10 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes W10 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes W10 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes W10 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes W10 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes W10 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes W10 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images

Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo Racing C39 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo Racing C39 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo Racing C39 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo Racing C39 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M adapted (muleto) with the Pirelli 18 inches

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M adapted (muleto) with the Pirelli 18 inches

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Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M adapted (muleto) with the Pirelli 18 inches

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M adapted (muleto) with the Pirelli 18 inches

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M adapted (muleto) with the Pirelli 18 inches

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M adapted (muleto) with the Pirelli 18 inches

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Pierre Gasly, adapted AlphaTauri AT01 (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images

Pierre Gasly, adapted AlphaTauri AT01 (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Pierre Gasly, adapted AlphaTauri AT01 (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Pietro Fittipaldi, Haas F1 Team VF-19 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Pietro Fittipaldi, Haas F1 Team VF-19 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR21 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR21 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR21 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR21 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Sergio Pérez, Red Bull Racing RB15 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images