Pirelli ends its two-day Budapest tyre test
Formula One’s tyre supplier Pirelli brought its two-day Budapest tyre testing to an end, which was aimed at experimenting with its brand-new 2022 18-inch tyres.
Following the controversial and action-packed Hungarian Grand Prix, Pirelli stayed at the Hungaroring to push its tyre test programme forward which centres around the 18-inch tyres. The new tyres are set to make their debut in 2022, adding five inches to the diameter that has held sway in grand prix racing since the 1960s.
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. 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.
Pirelli hopes that this new profile will change the behaviour of the Formula 1 cars on track, making them more precise when changing direction. Furthermore, the the lower sidewall means that it will have less impact on the overall aerodynamics of the car.
Tuesday saw McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes work on the new tyres, notching up an eye-catching tally of laps. The Maranello and the Brackley teams completed only a single day, leaving only the Woking-based outfit at the 4.3km Mogyoród circuit.
After Lando Norris racked up a total of 122 laps yesterday, Daniel Ricciardo took over the mule McLaren. The Australian had a busy morning in typically warm weather, registering 91 laps. McLaren and Pirelli chose not to run in the afternoon.
The two-day test running has left Pirelli with plenty of data to analysis and go through. McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes racked up a combined total of 523 laps with the new Pirelli 2022 18-inch tyres, which is equivalent of 2291 kilometres or more than seven grands prix.
Pirelli carries out test runs with its new tyres in Jerez, Bahrain, Imola, Barcelona, Paul Ricard, Spielberg, Silverstone and Budapest with one test remained which will see Alpine test the 2022 wet-weather tyres at Magny-Cours.
