F1 Tests 2018 | Exclusive interview with Mario Isola

Taking advantage of the third day of testing at Barcelona, characterized by snow, rain, and only five riders on the track who completed less than twenty laps in total, we had a chat with Mario isola. Motorsport Racing Manager di Pirelli spoke to us about the new colorful and vast range of compounds made available to the teams for the 2018 season, and what we can expect on the track this year.

For now there have only been two full days of testing, which were also characterized by very low temperatures. We saw the riders riding mostly on the medium and soft compounds. Someone has ventured superosft and even the new hypersoft... Have you already got some ideas?
“In general, in this first part the teams are all focused on the cars, in the hope that next week there will be better weather. During winter tests, normally on new cars, the work is mainly aimed at aerodynamics and new parts. We have also seen it in recent years: the first week is dedicated to systems, telemetry, engine, aerodynamics, while in the second week more time is dedicated to tyres, race and qualifying simulation, performance differences between the various compounds".

This year the "family" has expanded to nine compounds (seven slick and two wet). How did you prepare for the new season and what did you mainly focus on with the new products?
“In 2016 we had to develop a completely new product, with different objectives from the past, which degraded less and gave riders the opportunity to push more and attack. So we redesigned it from scratch, and ultimately last year's track experience showed us that most of the races were one-stop. We were a little conservative. We have therefore moved the entire range of compounds towards soft: what we now call superhard, and which we wanted to homologate but which we don't plan on using, is last year's hard, which in turn was practically not used. We have also added a new ultrasoft, one step softer than 2017, and a hypersoft, two steps softer than the ultrasoft. In the end, there are 6 compounds, which will give the possibility of covering all the needs on the various circuits. The tracks and asphalts are very different and the objective is to aim for two stops - an ideal compromise to have greater spectacle during the GPs - without worsening tire degradation too much. It's a very delicate balance between the right number of stops and the right level of degradation; encourage the show without being too aggressive or too conservative. It's a fine line."

In the first part of the 2017 season Mercedes struggled to find the right feeling with the tyres. Who do you think could interpret the tires better this year?
“First of all, it should be underlined that yesterday we dropped below one minute and twenty: in those conditions it is certainly a significant time. There is a factor that complicates things a bit and that is the new asphalt, completely different from last year's; it is one of the most aggressive and abrasive of all the tracks. The new asphalt is much smoother but the grip level seems to be very good, we have also seen this thanks to other tests done here with other cars. Wear and degradation is much lower so we need to understand how asphalt will affect these tests. Furthermore, even in terms of lap times, it is very difficult to actually understand how much is the development of the new cars and how much is the new asphalt. Within the teams it is difficult to get an idea of ​​who made the best car even now, and it won't be possible even next week with more data in hand. The teams then never reveal their potential in the winter tests, they always keep something in their pocket for the first races."

Tell us something more about the new pink compound, the hypersoft
“We will definitely see it in Monaco and then we still have to decide where to select it, but we would clearly like to use it on other tracks. We only tested it in our development tests with one car, and in Abu Dhabi together with all the teams. So we had the real answer there, but it was just one track on which we tested it extensively for everyone. If the conditions here in Barcelona next week are a little more lenient, given that all the teams have selected at least one or two sets, we will have a little more information."

On social media in recent days there has been some irony about the decidedly winter climate in Barcelona, ​​suggesting that it would have been better to do the tests in the heat, in Bahrain. However, the Catalan track was deemed the most suitable. What do you think about it?
“This climate here is an exceptional case. From our point of view, riding on tracks where the weather conditions are as similar as possible to those we will have in the race certainly offers us a better response, but Barcelona is chosen by the teams for various reasons: a lot of information can be collected - here they are two days of 'in season' testing are also planned - it's a track with high-speed corners and a third sector where you can see the traction better... There's a bit of everything, as a track it's very complete and also logistically it's close to many teams, who can send any development with reduced costs and time. However, over the years we have also had more representative tests. Of course, Bahrain is much more stable from a weather point of view, but the track is perhaps not as complete; it's a little more traction and braking, it doesn't have real curves in support. In the end it's a choice, even though we've been pretty unlucky so far this year. But I remember that last year there was also a rainy day in Bahrain during the Pirelli development tests in F2."