It’s the size of the rim that changes, adding five inches to the diameter that has held sway in grand prix racing since the 1960s; with compact, very wide tyres featuring a 'pot-bellied' sidewall that have kept Formula 1^® on track for more than half a century.

Now it’s time to change to a more modern approach. With a bigger emphasis on technological proximity to the road car product as well as aesthetics, the brand new P Zero F1^® tyre has the same tread width as before (305 millimetres at the front and 405 millimetres at the rear) but a slightly bigger overall diameter, which grows from 660 millimetres to 720 millimetres. The most significant change is a reduction in the sidewall, which now resembles that of the low-profile Pirelli tyres that for years have been the preferred choice of the world’s leading performance road cars.

This new profile will change the behaviour of the Formula 1^® cars on track, making them more precise when changing direction. From the tests carried out so far – in both dry and wet conditions – the drivers’ feedback has been positive and the new tyres will contribute to even more competitive races, with cars that are less sensitive to aerodynamic turbulence while following behind one another. The lower sidewall also means that the tyre will flex less, meaning that it will have less impact on the overall aerodynamics of the car. All of which should favour close racing.

The compounds for the 18-inch tyres will also be completely new, to ensure maximum consistency and less overheating. Five compound grades will be available for the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship^™, three of which will be chosen for each race weekend; just as is the case currently.

By going from 13-inch to 18-inch, Pirelli is the only tyre manufacturer that has competed in Formula 1^® with all the wheel sizes that have been part of the World Championship’s history. It’s a story that began in 1950, thanks to Pirelli’s first wins and titles with Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Maserati: front-engined Formula 1^® cars that ran on tall and narrow tyres. As time went on, the sport moved onto 13-inch tyres, before Pirelli embarked on its current era as the Global Tyre Partner of Formula 1^® in 2011. In 2017, Pirelli innovated by introducing tyres that were 25% wider than they had been previously, providing a bigger footprint and more grip, which in turn resulted in lap records being lowered all over the world.

Now, another fresh chapter is opened with 18-inch tyres: a new dimension with which Pirelli is privileged to accompany Formula 1^® into the future.

Having tested 18-inch tyres in a series of private sessions last year, F2 has been racing on the new larger diameter since the start of this season in Austria. When F1 adopts the bigger tyre size in 2022, the cars will look different, so it’s hard to compare. But this year’s F2 cars are virtually unchanged since last year, with only relatively minor modifications to the chassis. And this allows a clearer comparison from different angles.

FASTER LAP TIMES. The larger wheels and tyres, plus other modifications mentioned earlier, mean that a F2 car now weighs about 30 kilograms more than last year, which should theoretically result in lap times that are a full second per lap slower. However, the racing lap times in Austria actually proved to be faster than they were last year, even taking into account the difference in weather conditions. This comes from the increased grip and speed through corners in particular, adding up to an overall faster lap time.

BETTER FEELING. Not only that, but the drivers also enjoyed the feeling of the new 18-inch tyres. Formula 2 adopts a slightly different philosophy to Formula 1, as the tyres still have a deliberate degree of degradation, to help young drivers learn about tyre management.

MORE CONSISTENCY. Nonetheless, the drivers enjoyed the extra consistency that allowed them to push more consistently throughout the whole of a stint, with less drop-off in performance. Degradation was also reduced, and a wide variety of strategies were seen in the feature race, with some strong fightbacks.

STRONG IN THE WET. The F2 drivers also had the opportunity to sample the 18-inch Cinturato wet tyres both in Austria and in Hungary, reporting good driveability even in full wet conditions; as could also be seen from the high top speeds recorded at the end of the straight.

MARIO ISOLA, HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING – “Although we won’t see any 18-inch Formula 1 tyres testing on track until next year, what we’ve already seen in Formula 2 is a very encouraging sign for the future. The compound steps are similar to last year and the cars are exactly the same, which means that all these comparisons between 13-inch and 18-inch tyres are entirely valid. The new-generation 2022 F1 cars will be heavier with different aerodynamics, which should bring overall lap times down a bit, but we can expect more consistency, less overheating and an even better show: which our new tyres will play an integral role in helping to provide.”

MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING

“We were delighted to open up a brand new chapter at Paul Ricard, with the debut for our 18-inch tyres – which will change the face of Formula 1 – taking place alongside our latest development test for next year’s 13-inch tyres. Renault provided a 2018 mule car for the 18-inch test, with Sergey Sirotkin driving to mark this historic moment. We completed our planned programme as expected, covering 213 laps with the 18-inch tyres over two days. This was very useful for us to take a first look at the new generation of tyres and start shaping the development path that we will follow for the remainder of this year and next year. Of course, it is hard to read too much into this test as these are still very early days, but we have accumulated all the preliminary data that we wanted in good weather conditions, so thank you very much to Renault and to Sergey for their availability. With the 13-inch 2020 tyres, we covered 212 laps over the two days thanks to Esteban Ocon and Mercedes. The work consisted of assessing a range of prototype slick tyres, as we begin to finalise next year’s specification: the last season of 13-inch tyres before we move on to 18 inches in 2021.”