The increase in grand prix in Formula 1 has meant that any delay or modification, no matter how small, will completely change the rest of the schedule. In this campaign, fortunately, the loss of any test has not yet had to be hurt as has happened in the past two seasons, but some in the Great Circus are in trouble because of the calendar.
The official tire supplier, Pirelli , has 25 days to test the tires to find the ideal compound in 2023, although the weekends this year will not make it easy for them.
The Milanese company is trying to square the dates to carry out all the tests, and as a result, they will put some tires for study during Free Practice 2 in certain tests at the end of the campaign in order to test the 2023 prototypes.
The regulation allows 25 days to discover the behavior of the dry and wet tires, and now it is more important than ever due to the change in the technical regulations that has turned the Pirelli into 18-inch tires, instead of the usual 13.
The only realistic dates available are European Grands Prix where there is no race in the following week. So far, on the Tuesdays and Wednesdays after the appointments in Imola, Austria and Hungary are the chosen destinations, with two teams at each circuit for a total of 12 days of filming.
Pirelli has not yet confirmed which team will attend these tests, or if any of the days will be wet, filling the track artificially with water, but to achieve the required mileage, the Fridays of two weekends will be used to study the prototypes. of 2023.
“We will use the current cars, and we have a first part of the year in which we have already planned a series of tests after the races,” the Italian company’s F1 boss Mario Isola said of the test days. “Now we are discussing with the teams and the FIA to find a solution for the second half of the year.”
“Because if you look at the calendar, it’s quite demanding, and there are many consecutive races, even triples and appointments abroad where it’s difficult to ask a team to stay another couple of days after three tests in a row to be with Pirelli and then travel more,” reflected Isola.
“We are trying to find solutions to have some tests in the second part of the year, because it is clear that we need more tests to have different views and develop the tyre,” said the Italian. “Otherwise, it’s too difficult, you can’t have one trial with everyone and find the right product.”
“Some solutions are tested, the results are analysed, new ideas are developed, a second look is taken, and so on,” Pirelli’s chief executive at the Grand Circus said.
