Formula 1 returns to Europe and will do so at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Autodromo in Imola, the first of the two World Cup events in Italy. For the fourth round of the season, the Emilia-Romagna GP, Pirelli , F1’s sole tire supplier, will carry the following compounds:
- Pirelli PZero Hard White C2
- Pirelli PZero Medium Yellow C3
- Pirelli PZero Soft Red C4
Those are the three central compounds of the Pirelli 2022 range, which we remember, they range from C1 (the hardest) to C5 (the softest). The most extreme compounds were left out of Pirelli’s choice for the Imola weekend.
Tires for the Imola circuit, home of the Emilia Romagna GP
- Formula 1 returns to Imola, the first of two Pirelli home races (the other being Monza). The chosen compounds have been C2, C3 and C4 (hard P Zero White, medium P Zero Yellow and soft P Zero Red). Same nomination as last year, although the 18-inch compounds are obviously different.
- The tires are brand new, but the Imola track has remained unchanged from last season: it retains its old-school style. The asphalt dates from 2011 so the surface is quite abrasive. That is why the jump of compounds between the medium and the soft, adopted for Australia a couple of weeks ago, is not possible here: the Imola surface generates more grip and therefore more heat in the tires and for that you need a more robust soft compound.
- The lateral and longitudinal forces on the tires are similar to each other and this is a slippery track where drivers need to find a good rhythm. It is particularly important to be able to have good traction in the last corner of Rivazza to tackle the long main straight before the heavy braking that precedes the first corner, which offers an excellent overtaking opportunity.
- The first sprint qualifying race of the year will take place at Imola this weekend. The rules have been revised slightly for that type of grand prize compared to last season and there are now even more points up for grabs. From this year pole position will be attributed to the fastest driver in Friday’s qualifying session, who will also be the winner of the Pirelli Pole Position award. The tire rules are the same as last year’s sprint racing events: instead of having 13 sets of tires like on non-sprint weekends, there will only be 12 sets. Of those, two will be hard games, four medium games and six soft games. In addition, the teams will have up to six intermediate games and three extreme rain games in case of precipitation.
Mario Isola , Pirelli’s F1 manager, stated: “Imola is an old and demanding track, where overtaking can be difficult also because the circuit is quite narrow at some points. Therefore, a strategy designed to avoid traffic.The teams here start from scratch in terms of tire knowledge because the compounds are completely different this year and because the 2021 race was run on wet tires before the long red flag break.Overall Imola is a moderately hard track for the tyres, and one that is used quite frequently”.
“That means that we could see a slightly lower evolution of the track than in other circuits, given that it is already well rubberized: last month, in fact, the first round of the GT World Challenge was held in Imola, category which Pirelli is the exclusive supplier of, which gave us the opportunity to collect a lot of useful data. These are just some of the factors that teams will also need to consider when choosing tires for the first sprint race of the year.”
Minimum tire pressures (slicks or dry) at the 2022 F1 Emilia Romagna GP
- Front: 24.5psi
- Rear: 21.5psi
Maximum tire camber at the 2022 F1 Emilia Romagna GP
- Front: -3.50°
- Rear: -1.75°
