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NEW HARD COMPOUND FOR BRITISH
GRAND PRIX FREE PRACTICE
WHAT’S THE STORY?
After three consecutive street circuits, Formula One returns to one of the
most traditional permanent tracks of the year at Silverstone. For Pirelli,
this can be considered a second home race, as the company’s motorsport hub
is located in Didcot, only around an hour away.
During free practice on Friday, the teams will have the opportunity to test
a new hard P Zero compound that is under development for the future. Pirelli
tried out a number of experimental compounds during last year’s free
practice sessions, but this is the first time that a new compound will have
been tried during a race weekend in 2012.
The teams will each have two sets of the experimental hard tyre for the two
Friday sessions in addition to their usual allocation, before reverting to
the standard P Zero Silver hard compound and P Zero Yellow soft compound for
the rest of the race weekend. Last year, the early stages of the British
Grand Prix were affected by rain, so the Cinturato Green intermediate and
Cinturato Blue wet will also be on standby.
As well as several high-speed corners that put plenty of lateral energy
through the tyres, Silverstone is often characterised by a wide variety of
climatic conditions over the race weekend, with ambient temperatures between
15 to 30 degrees centigrade possible. The track surface is also quite
abrasive, which further increases tyre wear, while the tyre structure has to
cope with extended periods when the cars are at top speed and full throttle.
Pirelli’s motorsport director says:
Paul Hembery: “Silverstone is one of the most iconic circuits on the Formula
One calendar, precisely because it is so demanding for the drivers, cars and
tyres. This is why we have chosen to test a new experimental hard compound
here during free practice, which we may use in the future. The new tyre has
a slightly wider working range, which should make it easier for the teams to
get the tyres into the right operating temperature window. But with the
championship so finely balanced, our priority is to ensure that no one team
is handed any particular advantage. We want to keep the performance of the
tyres at the highest level for as long as possible, so this is a valuable
opportunity for ourselves and all the teams to gather more information about
the potential effect of a new compound, and gain some data for the future.
Silverstone is a very high-energy circuit that can see some unpredictable
weather conditions, so a strong performance from the tyres and an effective
strategy are vital ingredients in a successful race outcome.”
The men behind the steering wheel say:
Paul di Resta (Force India): “Silverstone is a great venue, my home race,
and a place where you can really appreciate what a Formula One car is
capable of, especially the aerodynamic grip and the change of direction.
Everybody talks about the speed of Maggotts and Becketts because there
really is nothing else like them on any other track in the world. When
you’re running with low fuel on a qualifying lap with new tyres it gives you
a real buzz, but you need to hook them up just right to get the lap time. I
also enjoy the new section of the track and every year we go back there it
gets better and better. The new layout has definitely created some more
overtaking opportunities, especially with the introduction of DRS, and it’s
great fun to drive, while being very demanding on the tyres at the same
time.”
Pirelli’s test driver says:
Lucas di Grassi: “I drove the new Silverstone circuit at the 2010 British
Grand Prix and it’s very interesting: high speed and high energy are the
main characteristics, which has a big effect on the tyres because of all the
aerodynamic grip. But traction is also tested a lot in the slower and more
technical sections, particularly in terms of combined acceleration, when you
are turning and accelerating at the same time. Hard and soft is a very good
combination here, with the soft tyre definitely the one to qualify on. The
biggest difficulty in terms of set-up is the unpredictability of the weather
conditions, so you really have to focus on your car and collect as much
information as you can during all the sessions. It’s still easy to get
caught out by a set-up that isn’t perfectly suited to the conditions on race
day though. I tested the experimental hard compound tyre in Jerez earlier
this year: it’s a similar concept to the current hard but with improved
combined grip and better wear. It’s particularly effective in warm weather
and when the track conditions are poor – so you end up with a tyre that is
quicker and lasts longer.”
Technical tyre notes:
• • One of the fastest corners at Silverstone is Turn 9 (Copse) which the
cars take at 290kph, generating a lateral force of 5g. The tyre tread
temperature can exceed 110 degrees centigrade at this point, with good
lateral grip being the key to quick lap.
• The track was partially resurfaced last year, when a new pit complex was
added, but it remains quite bumpy. The teams generally run quite high
downforce to ensure good aerodynamic grip but they have to adjust the
suspension to take into account the bumps: many of which are absorbed by the
tyres.
• Pirelli has never experienced a completely dry race at Silverstone or used
the hard tyre in race conditions: last year all the cars started on the
intermediate tyre, with the top five running similar three-stop strategies
without using the hard tyre.
Pirelli in Britain:
• Pirelli’s Didcot hub in Oxfordshire has been nominated a ‘centre of
excellence’ for the company and now looks after all other northern European
motorsport operations as well as Formula One.
• Pirelli clinched a sequence of five consecutive victories at the British
Grand Prix between 1950 and 1954, starting with Nino Farina in an Alfa Romeo
158 and ending with Froilan Gonzalez in a Ferrari 625.
• Pirelli has two factories in Britain: one in Burton upon Trent (which uses
Pirelli’s patented MIRS – Modular Integrated Robotised System) and one in
Carlisle. Pirelli did not just make tyres in Britain: one of the company’s
less famous products right up until the 1970s was rubber-soled bedroom
slippers.
Other news from Pirelli:
• Pirelli completed a two-day development test in Spa just before the
British Grand Prix, with test drivers Lucas di Grassi and Jaime Alguersuari
in the 2010 Renault R30 test car. The test was aimed at refining the tyres
that could be used in the future, with the car running in a wide range of
weather conditions at the epic
Belgian circuit.
• Pirelli hosted a UK media day at Silverstone last month where journalists
got to drive on the track using some of the company’s latest products,
including the P Zero Trofeo R – a road-legal track tyre – and the P Zero
Silver road tyre. The new Cinturato P7 Blue tyre was also on display, which
is the first tyre on sale to be awarded an ‘AA’ rating by the new European
tyre label legislation.
• Peugeot Italia driver Paolo Andreucci won the latest round of the Italian
Rally Championship, the San Crispino Rally, last weekend using Pirelli
gravel tyres. Pirelli also won the Junior Championship classification on the
event thanks to Citroen driver Simone Campedelli. |
