Pirelli believes the decision to keep this year’s tyres in 2020 could lead to more tyre management and less unpredictability during races.
Last week, teams unanimously rejected the product the Italian supplier had developed for next year following a two-day test in Abu Dhabi after the Formula 1 season finale.
But with next year’s cars expected to be at least a second faster in terms of performance, that is forcing Pirelli to request changes to ensure their safety.
“The pressures will only be adjusted to accommodate the improved performance of the cars, that means we have to increase the pressures to keep that in balance,” Pirelli motorsport chief Mario Isola told Racer.
“It is, therefore, possible that we will have more overheating due to the higher pressure or some more wear. If the latter is the case, then I think that we will see slightly more drivers manage the tyres during races.
“In addition, it is also true that teams already know these tires better and have more data to fall back on. So we will have less unpredictability.”
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While it is believed the aerodynamic impact of the 2020 tyres was the reason for their rejection, Isola also explained how the pumped up 2019 compounds could have a similar effect.
“The cars are incredibly complicated and every small adjustment has major consequences,” he said.
“When you talk about the cars, teams have complete control over what is being adjusted, after all, they develop the car, just like the engine.
“We are the third party that develops the tyres and they have no control over them, that it is the big difference between the cars and the tyres.”
Another story from earlier this year revolved around unhappiness from some teams that the 2019 rubber, with thinner treads, was favouring some teams like Mercedes.
But the Pirelli chief denied it was possible to design “special tyres” to one team.
“We have got a solid system,” he was quoted by PlanetF1.
“It is clear when you are the sole supplier that the priority is to ensure that we respect the sporting regulations, to supply the same product to everyone and this is feasible thanks to a system with the FIA, where they send us the barcodes.
“When we prepare the tyres for an event, we put on the barcode on the sidewall before the curing process. After the tyre is ready and finished, you cannot take out the barcodes. It is impossible. When we have the 1,800 barcodes for the event, we send it to the FIA.
“The FIA has software that has a random allocation for each car and we then associate each tyre with each different car. This is a system that guarantees that we cannot make a special tyre for anybody.”
