Pirelli tests warmer, shorter heating blankets to prevent run-offs in 2023
Pirelli will bring new tires in 2023, but as part of the drive to reduce power consumption, the tires were supposed to no longer be preheated at high temperatures. This change was called into question following the latest tests.
The F1 drivers were able to test the 2023 tires in Austin and Mexico. Even if they were not aware of the hardness of the tires fitted on their car, the drivers were nevertheless aware of an important change: the reduction of tire pre-heating temperature from 70°C to 50°C.
The heated blankets are supposed to be less hot next year, and that’s specifically why Pirelli has decided to test the tires with all the teams starting from the end of this season.
During the warm-up session in Austin, all the covers were set to 50°C as required by the regulations. Many drivers complained about the time it took to warm up, even though the weather conditions were particularly favorable in Austin.
Norris spoke on the subject, saying that there would be cars coming out very quickly due to the difficulty of heating the tires.
However, the plans are still to reduce tire heating temperatures in 2023 and completely eliminate tire heating in 2024. This approach, which aims to save a lot of energy, is not completely in line with safety.
In order to have comparison insights, Pirelli made the decision during the Mexico tests to heat the tires to the usual temperature of 70°C, but for only two hours instead of the currently implemented three hours.
The tests have proven to be conclusive according to the feedback from the drivers after Mexico, and Mario Isola believes that it still allows for energy saving. The goal is still to no longer have any heated blankets at all by 2024, but for the next season, our research shows that if you use the blankets at their maximum power for two hours, it is more energy-efficient than using them at a lower power for three hours, explained the sports director of Pirelli.
Pirelli will bring the 5 different types of tire compounds during the end-of-season tests in Abu Dhabi and should thus use this strategy of reduced warm-up time to 2 hours, instead of lowering the warm-up temperature to 50°C as initially planned.
