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18 inch tires for Formula 2 next season followed by Formula 1 in 2021.
On the 7th and 8th of October Pirelli conducted it's test for the 2020 Formula One tyres. They need to be tested properly so the Barcelona Circuit was used and 3 teams took part over the 2 day trials. Pirelli play around with various compounds and these test give them the data they require to manufacture and improve on what is currently on offer.
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Vettel was the one testing for Ferrari which I thought was strange. Where is their test driver/
On day one Red Bull and Alex Albon (115 laps)plus Ferrari with Sebastien Vettel (145 laps). I was a little surprised as I would have though Charles le Clerc should have been the one. Sebastien looks as though he is no longer the favorite and is possibly on his way out the door. The second day saw Mercedes and their test driver Esteban Ocon doing more than 149 laps.
The tires for next year will be 13 inch tires before the massive increase to 18 inch for 2021. The Formula 2 series will be using 18 inch next season so it should give them enough information on how they perform. This surely would change the car set up slightly and I am sure teams are already working on this for the following year.
In September Pirelli did tests on the 18 inch tyre at the French Circuit using a 2018 Renault. There are rumours that the proposed compound change won't happen next year as Pirelli missed the cut off time for any specification changes.
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Each tire varies and knowing how many laps you can get out of each one is vital.
The one proposal that sounds more fair is all 10 teams will be involved in the new tyre tests next year. Twenty five days have been set aside and I am sure the main drivers will all be attending as it will be interesting to see how the 2019 model handles the bigger tyre. Once the compound is chosen there will be a three day group test with all the teams trialing them out after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
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The tyres chosen by Pirelli for the Japanese Grand Prix.
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The data collected after the race highlighting which driver did better on the various different sets. Motor racing is all about information and data as they try and out do each other gaining a fraction of a second.
In the past we saw two tyre companies supplying tyres being Bridgestone and Pirelli and it was deemed safer and fairer to have all the cars using the same brand ,but could choose between the various variants available.The one thing Pirelli does do is choose which variants are on offer for which track as some are moresuited than others. This I feel has simplified the teams choices and possibly made it safer as risks are elliminated by taking unescessary chances.