Pirelli’s Mario Isola: “The teams start from scratch here in terms of tyre knowledge”

Mario Isola believes the ten Formula 1 teams will need to start from scratch when it comes to tyre knowledge this weekend at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, with information from the past two editions of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix virtually useless.

The eighteen-inch tyres introduced to Formula 1 in 2022 will race in Europe for the first time this weekend at Imola, with the C2, C3 and C4 compounds being brought to the track by sole tyre manufacturer’s Pirelli. 

They are the same three compounds as in 2021, but the change from thirteen to eighteen-inch tyres will ensure teams will need to work out the best way of using the compounds this weekend.

Isola, the Motorsport Director at Pirelli, says teams will need to workout the best strategy around the old-school challenge of the Imola circuit, and with the first sprint Qualifying race coming up on Saturday, this will also need to be factored in.

“Imola is an old-school, challenging track, where overtaking can be tricky, also because the circuit is quite narrow in places,” said Isola.

“So the strategy is likely to centre around avoiding traffic, and effectively the teams start from scratch here in terms of tyre knowledge – as the compounds are completely different this year, and last year’s race also began on the wet-weather tyres, before being interrupted by a lengthy red flag period.

“Generally speaking, Imola is a medium severity track for the tyres, and it’s a venue that is used quite frequently. This means that we might see a little less track evolution than we’ve been accustomed to at other circuits as the track is well rubbered-in already: the first round of the Pirelli-equipped GT World Challenge took place at Imola last month, which gave us some useful data.

“These are just some of the factors that the teams will have to take into account when establishing the tyre strategy for the opening sprint session of the year: another first for the 2022 season.”

Credit: Pirelli Motorsport