Pirelli expects 2022 F1 cars to match pace with 2021 machines

F1 cars in 2022 could be 'as fast as' cars from the recently concluded 2021 campaign, claims Pirelli boss Mario Isola. Speaking in an interview with French publication AutoHebdo, the Italian said:

“In the beginning, we were talking about more than three seconds per lap. Now it’s half a second or a second. So, if they start with only one second difference, it means that during the season they will probably reach the same level of performance as in 2021.”

Isola's words are related to the general preconception that the new cars to be used this season would be slower by almost three seconds. This was mainly because the sport had adopted a new 18-inch wheel that is expected to be slower than the 13-inch wheels used last year.

Much of that notion was based on data gathered by Pirelli on the new wheels. The new wheels were tested on mule cars, which are used by teams to try out new components. With constant development being synonymous with the sport, Isola's assumptions, however, are not far-fetched.

The Italian tire manufacturer has also reportedly developed a new formula for the next generation of F1 tires and hopes to see improved durability and reduced degradation. This could lead to more one-stop races in the future, cutting out the time lost in the pitlane.

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Pirelli does not intend to reintroduce tire allocation choices in F1 2022 season

Pirelli boss Mario Isola has confirmed that the Italian tire maker has no plans to reintroduce tire allocation choices for the upcoming F1 2022 season.

Tire allocation choices were halted midway through the 2020 season. Earlier, all F1 teams had the discretion to choose how many tires and compounds they wanted to use for a particular race weekend.

Speaking during a post-season interview with racefans.net, Isola said:

“The teams came back to us saying, ‘actually the system is quite good, we want to keep it for the future.’ So, it was not our decision at the end to continue with this fixed allocation. The teams told us that if they have a fixed allocation, and it’s the same for everybody, so there is no advantage for one or the other. They can start planning on this fixed allocation instead of spending time and resources and people to think about one set more of medium or one set less of soft. They have that allocation; they have to work around this.”

Pirelli has also worked in conjunction with all teams in an attempt to reduce tire vibrations caused during high-speed racing to try and improve stability.