2022 British Grand Prix – Preview

THE TYRES ON TRACK 

• Along with Suzuka in Japan and Spa in Belgium, Silverstone places the highest energy demands on tyres all year, which is why the hardest tyres in the range have been nominated: C1 as the P Zero White hard, C2 as the P Zero Yellow medium, and C3 as the P Zero Red soft. This is the third time that this combination has been nominated all year.
• Ultra-rapid and high-energy corners such as the Maggotts and Becketts complex aren’t the only challenge that Silverstone has to offer: the weather can be extremely variable, from bright sunshine to heavy rain.
• Last year’s race was won with two tyre changes: one of them taking place under an early red flag period following the collision between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Nearly all the drivers completed two stints on the medium plus a final one on the hard. This year, the compounds and structures are completely different, and there’s no sprint qualifying either – which was a factor in the strategy last year.

 “The British Grand Prix is where the new show car for 2022 was displayed last year”

“The British Grand Prix was where the new show car for the 2022 season was displayed last year, to highlight the future direction of the sport that we have embarked on from this season. The latest aerodynamic regulations are designed to allow drivers to follow each other more closely for longer to give more chance of overtaking, as we saw in Canada, while the tyres are designed to provide less overheating, more stability, and increased driveability within a wider working window. All these aspects will be tested this weekend, on one of the most challenging tracks for tyres of the year.

Formula 2
The P Zero White hard and P Zero Red soft tyres are nominated: a change from one year ago, when the hard and medium were used. The extra step between the compounds will provide additional one-lap performance and more strategic variability in the races. Each driver has five sets of slicks (three hard and two soft) to use across the weekend. The sprint race lasting 21 laps takes place on Saturday afternoon, followed by a 29-lap feature race on Sunday morning. 

Formula 3
The P Zero White hard tyre is nominated as the single compound: the third appearance in four rounds so far this season for the hardest compound in the range, after Bahrain and Barcelona. The nomination is the same as Formula 3’s previous visits to Silverstone in 2019 and 2020, meeting the need to handle Silverstone’s high-energy demands over a full race without pitstops. The 18-lap sprint race is on Saturday morning, with the feature race lasting 22 laps on Sunday morning. 

• WRC
  The Safari Rally in Kenya, with Pirelli supplying its latest Scorpion gravel tyres for the longest WRC event of the year, was won by Toyota driver Kalle Rovanpera.
   
• GT
  The Spa test days, consisting of two preparation days for the Spa 24 Hours at the end of July – the most prominent event of Pirelli’s GT season – took place from June 21-22. The Team WRT Audi was fastest, closely followed by the Dinamic Motorsport Porsche.
   
• Hot laps
  The Pirelli Hot Laps programme resumes at Silverstone: which involves some of the world’s leading car manufacturers involved in Formula 1 – who also use Pirelli tyres on the road – showcasing their latest models, with racing drivers treating guests to high-speed laps.