Pirelli Motorsport were able to get some valuable data during second practice for the United States Grand Prix on Friday after all ten teams participated in a blind tyre test aimed at next years’ tyre compounds.
None of the teams nor drivers knew what compound they were running during Friday’s running at the Circuit of the Americas, but they all had variations of the harder compounds that Pirelli are planning to use next season in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
Simone Berra, the Chief Engineer at Pirelli, says it was a useful day for Pirelli as they got to understand how their harder tyres worked on track, and they will be doing something similar with the softer compounds next weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
“We were finally able to get the first part of the 2023 testing programme completed following the wet weather that cancelled the planned session in Japan,” said Berra.
“The work we did in FP2 here will allow us to analyse valuable data collected on the harder compounds, just as next weekend’s FP2 session in Mexico City will give us some useful information on the softer compounds.”
Berra says final practice on Saturday will be extra important this weekend at the Circuit of the Americas after the majority of the practice time on Friday afternoon was lost to the tyre test, with teams unable to make aero adjustments while Pirelli were in control of their running.
“It was an important day, where a different style of FP1 and FP2 will put the emphasis on FP3 tomorrow to help formulate the best strategy for the race,” Berra added.
“The windy conditions and bumpy surface also underlined today how the Circuit of the Americas remains one of the most interesting circuits for drivers and engineers.”