Pirelli’s 2012 Formula 1 tires make their debut at the young driver test in Abu Dhabi this week.
It represents an excellent opportunity for Pirelli to try out some of the 2012 range of tires, with in-season testing currently banned for this year.
The tire design has changed slightly for next year: the latest evolutions of the P Zero tires feature new profiles for the front and rear, and a selection of totally new compounds with only the Super Soft compound unaltered.
The 2012 tires have a squarer profile, designed to distribute wear more evenly across the footprint, while the softer compounds have been adjusted to reduce the risk of blistering.
This new range of tires is designed to bring the relative performance of the compounds closer together, thereby making strategy even more important next year. The new tires are also designed to increase performance, making the 2012 tires some of the most extreme that Pirelli has ever produced.
The combined kilometres of running that the young drivers will complete from Tuesday to Thursday this week will be extremely useful when it comes to providing Pirelli’s engineers with real data.
According to the current FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) agreement, the teams have 100 sets of tires each to use for testing during the year. Most of these sets have already been used during the four preseason tests, but on average teams have 10-15 sets left each.
On top of that, the teams will receive eight extra sets of tires, made up of the current range of compounds as well as some soft compound development tires.
Based on the data that is gathered, the experimental compounds will then be adjusted in time for the next scheduled Formula One test – the first of the 2012 season -- which is due to be carried out at Jerez from February 7-9.
It represents an excellent opportunity for Pirelli to try out some of the 2012 range of tires, with in-season testing currently banned for this year.
The tire design has changed slightly for next year: the latest evolutions of the P Zero tires feature new profiles for the front and rear, and a selection of totally new compounds with only the Super Soft compound unaltered.
 |
| Photo: Pirelli |
The 2012 tires have a squarer profile, designed to distribute wear more evenly across the footprint, while the softer compounds have been adjusted to reduce the risk of blistering.
This new range of tires is designed to bring the relative performance of the compounds closer together, thereby making strategy even more important next year. The new tires are also designed to increase performance, making the 2012 tires some of the most extreme that Pirelli has ever produced.
The combined kilometres of running that the young drivers will complete from Tuesday to Thursday this week will be extremely useful when it comes to providing Pirelli’s engineers with real data.
According to the current FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) agreement, the teams have 100 sets of tires each to use for testing during the year. Most of these sets have already been used during the four preseason tests, but on average teams have 10-15 sets left each.
On top of that, the teams will receive eight extra sets of tires, made up of the current range of compounds as well as some soft compound development tires.
Based on the data that is gathered, the experimental compounds will then be adjusted in time for the next scheduled Formula One test – the first of the 2012 season -- which is due to be carried out at Jerez from February 7-9.