Pirelli charters 360 tire trains to Barcelona

A few weeks before the start of the Formula 1 season in Australia, the teams have one last opportunity to test the 2012 tires during four days of testing at the Barcelona circuit scheduled from March 1 to 4.

This is the last opportunity for everyone to finalize their package before the first race, making the event a crucial point of the season. One of the immediate challenges for the teams will be to understand exactly how the Pirelli tires behave with the cars. In the long term, the continuous developments in Formula 1 mean that the vehicles will evolve significantly throughout the season. The fastest car in Australia will not necessarily be the one on pole at the end of the season, as each team can display up to nearly two seconds per lap difference across all the circuits of the season. One of Pirelli’s objectives will therefore be to keep up with this important development pace.

The new introductions, such as the front wings, will have a significant impact on the behavior of single-seaters due to the forces acting on them and in many other areas. It is therefore important to emphasize the importance of tire testing by considering numerous parameters to focus on in Barcelona. Most teams are now working with the finalized 2012 chassis, and it will be crucial to understand how the latest modifications interact with the tires.

However, teams do not like to reveal their full potential during winter testing, particularly concerning tire strategy, and they conceal their true level of competitiveness from the competition as much as possible. With eight different drivers topping the timesheets during the last eight days of testing in Jerez and Barcelona, it remains extremely difficult to draw any conclusions.

The teams have completed over 32,000 km of testing to date with the new Pirelli compounds. All have already been used, except for the intermediate Cinturato tires, with green sidewalls, and the rain tires, with blue sidewalls.

Once again, the P Zero White (medium) tire is the most popular choice among teams for these tests, as it is designated for the first three Grand Prix of the season – alongside the P Zero Yellow (soft) in Australia and China, as well as the P Zero Silver (hard) for Malaysia. Pirelli will bring 114 sets of medium tires to Barcelona, along with 94 sets of softs, 69 of hards, and 38 of super-softs. In case of rain, 31 sets of intermediates and 14 of wets are ready for action.

There will therefore be a total of 360 sets of tires available for these final tests, in addition to the 181 already used during the first tests in Jerez, and the 257 in Barcelona last week. Each team is allowed to use 100 sets per car per season for testing, which amounts to 1,200 sets for the entire grid over the season. With two more test sessions to come (this week in Barcelona, then in Mugello in May), the teams have already used a total of 438 sets, but not all of the teams’ cars have hit the track yet.

Teams will also be allowed to use unused sets that were mounted for previous tests. Therefore, the number of sets available to each team is greater than the previously mentioned figures. Thus, in the trailers of many teams, there is an average of three sets of intermediate and wet tires, amounting to a total of 36 sets of each compound.

Barcelona is the best place to test new tires due to the variety of speeds and curves on the 4.655 km long track. Teams also have a significant amount of data, accumulated over the years on the Circuit de Catalunya track. Teams have already worked on aerodynamic developments, and the focus this week should be on race simulations and strategies for the Grand Prix.

Paul Hembery, Director of Pirelli Motorsport: « We should see the teams testing the tires that will be used during the next three Grand Prix, with an emphasis on preparing them more than on developing the cars. Once again at the Circuit de Catalunya, we have made the full range of tires available, specifically designed to meet the 2012 regulations. We have gathered a lot of data and received very positive feedback from the drivers, and this week should allow us to validate our findings and continue to collect very important data for the coming season ».

[From the official statement released by Pirelli]