In the first half of the year, nothing much has been said about Pirelli. This is usually a good sign. While the silence may have gone unnoticeable, some of the company’s achievements did not.
Take, for example, managing to create tires that do not overheat too much when F1 cars follow and fight each other. This is one of the few achievements that we ought to highlight.
“I am happy; the performance is good, but above all, we have achieved most of the objectives that we have discussed in the past. The main objective was to have more action on the track, to have drivers who fight, to fight closely, and we had races with a lot of action. Not just at the front, but also in the middle of the grid, for example, so it’s a very interesting championship with good drivers,” said Mario Isola.
The goal is to have different strategies and to create technical interest in the championship. The main objective, however, is to offer a good show and a worthy technical challenge for teams and for Pirelli. This is thanks to the new 18-inch tires.
“But the focus has to stay on the riders, because they are the heroes of the show, and we have to deliver a tire that can give them the ability to push, attack and fight etc. I don’t want to completely change the product, because as I said, the product works well,” he told FOM.
Adjustments are expected to continue even up to next year. There are things that still need to be addressed including aerodynamic downforce and understeer at low speeds.
“We are working to design new construction – front and rear – with a higher level of integrity, because cars are going faster and faster. We’re designing a new, slightly stronger front construction to balance that out and reduce that understeer. It’s not a revolution, it’s not a new product for next year. It is an improvement of the current one which is good.”
Pirelli is also doing other projects, including bringing C1 and C2 Pirelli tires closer in terms of durability and performance.
F1 is working towards being carbon neutral by 2030. In addition to all the initiatives that Pirelli has, it has become the first manufacturer to get three stars in FIA’s environmental accreditation program.
“We plan to be carbon neutral by 2030 – the aim is to align with Formula 1. We have a fairly extensive sustainability program to try to do everything possible to reduce our impact in the future. We have aggressive plans to replace fossil fuels with 100% renewable energy,” added Mario Isola.