Formula 1 | Exclusive interview with Mario Isola: “It was a positive 2022”

La Pirelli is preparing to enter its thirteenth consecutive year in formula 1 as the sole tire supplier. The Italian company is working tirelessly on the tires that all Circus teams will use in 2023, evolving every season and trying to improve technologically also to meet the increasingly demanding requests of teams and drivers. In fact, further tests are planned on the Jerez and Paul Ricard tracks to refine the final details, especially on the wet specifications. We chatted with Mario isola, Pirelli's motorsport director, starting from an assessment regarding the 2022 season, the first with 18-inch tyres, and then going into ever more detail.

The first season with 18 inch tires is now behind us. What is the budget? Were there any particular difficulties to face?

“The balance is positive, because we had an interesting season, but above all the target that was given to us was achieved, so having a championship with more action on the track and drivers who could outdo each other even for more laps, we can be satisfied. As for the difficulties, I can say that there were some challenges on a technical level on situations that we had not seen the previous year, because with the mule cars (old generation cars adapted to the new 2022 regulations, ed.) some aspects had not emerged, such as the low-speed understeer of these cars. The wear profile of the front had to be fixed, as well as the distance between the compounds, which obviously varies from track to track. Some compounds needed to be repositioned a bit but nothing major. For this reason, no substantial changes have been made: we have approved a product which, like every year, aims to increase the level of integrity because the cars will go faster, everyone says that we tend to go slower and instead this is not the case, and then we have tried to sort out the details."

“The real issue concerns the wet tyres: they have not been adequately tested due to lack of space, consider that before 2022 we did five days of development tests, three dedicated to the intermediates and two to the full wets, and consequently the latter have a little painful. We preferred to do an extra day with the intermediate ones because they are the ones that are used the most. The full wets were taken into consideration in free practice at Imola, there we understood that we had to make some changes, i.e. improve the warm-up and performance so as to lower the crossover with the intermediates. Unfortunately during the year there were no opportunities to do any wet tests, only one in Fiorano, which was not very indicative given the temperatures, but then a nice window opened around Christmas, because thanks to a discussion made with team and FIA, we managed to widen a window in which tests are allowed, therefore until mid-December and then starting from February 1st, again with the 2022 cars we managed to carry out some test days. Sessions in which we will validate a few things, and thanks to these dedicated days we have managed to identify a new full wet product that works very well".

In 2023 you will have a new construction which aims to be more reactive at the front, has there been any feedback from riders and teams?

“We decided to design a slightly stronger front that would reduce understeer: we had also seen other more extreme solutions but they were not approved because we imagine that the teams have collected a lot of data, and they know that these cars suffered at low speed of understeer, so they will be building cars that will try to get around this problem. We do the same thing with a new construction, so you have to be careful and not go too far, because then it's easy for the two effects to combine and therefore have to manage oversteer instead of having a balanced car. We made a small step, nothing too big, also because it wasn't such a dramatic understeer, it wasn't an undriveable tyre. However, having a balanced tire at the start helps you use and learn it."

How has the relationship between Pirelli and the teams evolved over the years? Are they always available to carry out specific tests or do you sometimes hit a wall?

“I must say that over the years they have improved, also because we have accumulated experience over time and now we know the teams, the interlocutors and the riders well. It's clear that for them too, carrying out tests during the season represents an effort: in a season there are 23 races, putting in even test days is demanding for people, logistics and a whole series of reasons. Then now there is the budget cap, there was discussion about whether or not the Pirelli test was part of the seasonal expenses and this could also create a theme of refusal on the part of the teams, which is why it is not counted. There have been many details to discuss over the years and which have also changed, but the teams have realized that giving us a hand with testing on the track is important for the product that we will then provide them during the season."

“In 2022 we managed to have a tire that lived up to expectations: we improved the simulation phase, data analysis, virtual tire models that were exchanged with the teams, they sent us feedback so a certain amount of type of simulation work, but on-track validation still remains fundamental today, and they understood this, so despite facing many problems in organizing a test, they gave us their availability. Now they are much more structured, there are a series of rules that must be followed, and even if a certain team were to do it then we have to provide everything to the others. We tried to create a system that did not give advantages or disadvantages to anyone, so even if a team does a few more days of testing than the others, perhaps the small teams can give you less availability, the top teams instead have more possibilities, perhaps because they have more people, but even the smaller teams will receive the report of each test. In terms of sporting fairness, with a bit of experience we have found some very valid solutions."

Also because the simulators are beautiful and sophisticated, but in the end it is the track that gives you the best indications. Some teams recently said it's impossible to replicate porpoising through software. Could the same be true for tires?

“In 2021 we tested around thirty specifications, it may seem like a lot but you also have to think that you have to develop a range of five compounds: design and then develop the construction, develop five different compounds and then the intermediate and wet ones, we are talking about seven products, so testing thirty is not that high a number. The simulation work was fundamental, we tested around 70 different solutions. We have therefore more than halved the tests on the track, but the final validation must always be done on the asphalt. On the slicks and on the thermo-mechanical model, great progress has been made, however there are some effects that we are still studying, and I must say that simulating the right conditions for intermediate and extreme wet tires is not at all simple, because the quantity of water also changes from curve to curve and therefore it is really difficult, because there is a continuous change in conditions which sometimes hides the differences between one prototype and another. We struggle on the track, let alone in the simulator."

END OF PART ONE