Pirelli’s new 18-inch concept tires formed the centre of attention at Silverstone, with Lotus F1 Team reserve driver Charles Pic giving the new design its debut on Wednesday morning.
Pic headed out shortly after 9am in the current Lotus E22 equipped with the new 18-inch tires and completed 14 laps of the Silverstone circuit. With the concept tire designed principally to showcase aesthetics rather than performance, and a general-purpose compound, the lap times were not the focus. Instead, the objective was to gauge reaction to the very different new design, which received the thumbs up from most observers.
Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery commented: “In our view, the new tires looked stunning fitted to the Lotus, and the reaction has already been felt all over the world. These are just a prototype concept, but if the teams decided that they wanted us to proceed in this direction, we have the capability to carry on development in this area and come up with a production-ready version in a comparatively short space of time. We’ve heard a lot of opinions already and we look forward to canvassing other opinions in the coming weeks and months.
"Even though performance wasn’t by any means priority here, the new tires still behaved exactly in line with our expectations, so we’re clearly potentially at the beginning of a huge development curve, with the wheel and tire size rules having remained unaltered for many years."
The new tires were designed and built in accordance with Pirelli’s premium strategy in Milan. The key technical advantage of an 18-inch tire is a stiffer sidewall that helps maintain the structural rigidity of the tire and also makes it easier for the tire to maintain a constant pressure – as there is less actual air inside the tire. The new tire is physically bigger, which makes it much more relevant to the Ultra High Performance tires that are seen on the road, leading to greater technology transfer.
The new tires tested today have the same width as the current 13-inch tires (245mm at the front and 325mm at the rear) but a diameter that is bigger by 30mm. The weight is approximately the same as the 13-inch tire, because although the diameter is bigger, there is a smaller sidewall. The total weight, including the rim, is around 4 kilograms heavier.
Pic headed out shortly after 9am in the current Lotus E22 equipped with the new 18-inch tires and completed 14 laps of the Silverstone circuit. With the concept tire designed principally to showcase aesthetics rather than performance, and a general-purpose compound, the lap times were not the focus. Instead, the objective was to gauge reaction to the very different new design, which received the thumbs up from most observers.
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| Charles Pic aboard the Lotus E22, equipped with Pirelli 18-inches tires. (Photo: WRi2) |
Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery commented: “In our view, the new tires looked stunning fitted to the Lotus, and the reaction has already been felt all over the world. These are just a prototype concept, but if the teams decided that they wanted us to proceed in this direction, we have the capability to carry on development in this area and come up with a production-ready version in a comparatively short space of time. We’ve heard a lot of opinions already and we look forward to canvassing other opinions in the coming weeks and months.
"Even though performance wasn’t by any means priority here, the new tires still behaved exactly in line with our expectations, so we’re clearly potentially at the beginning of a huge development curve, with the wheel and tire size rules having remained unaltered for many years."
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| Comparison 13-inches vs 18-inches tires. (Photo: Pirelli) |
The new tires were designed and built in accordance with Pirelli’s premium strategy in Milan. The key technical advantage of an 18-inch tire is a stiffer sidewall that helps maintain the structural rigidity of the tire and also makes it easier for the tire to maintain a constant pressure – as there is less actual air inside the tire. The new tire is physically bigger, which makes it much more relevant to the Ultra High Performance tires that are seen on the road, leading to greater technology transfer.
The new tires tested today have the same width as the current 13-inch tires (245mm at the front and 325mm at the rear) but a diameter that is bigger by 30mm. The weight is approximately the same as the 13-inch tire, because although the diameter is bigger, there is a smaller sidewall. The total weight, including the rim, is around 4 kilograms heavier.
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| Charles Pic aboard the Lotus E22, equipped with Pirelli 18-inches tires. (Photo: WRi2) |