Teams have gathered data for 2022 season: 'Pleased with test days'

"We’re pleased with how these two days of testing went, and with the behaviour of the new 18-inch tyre in general", Isola says on the official website of Pirelli. The tyre supplier started to develop the new tyres for 2022 way back in 2019.

There were some problems with grain formation on the front tyres, but that was soon solved. Still, this test was not entirely representative of the new 2022 cars. "But we need to keep in mind that mule cars were used and that the goal of this test was to allow the teams a chance to gather data to analyse over the winter."

Tyres can still be improved

Isola confirmed that the cars will be around half a second slower than the current F1 cars, but expects that gap to be made up during the new season. "Throughout the course of next year, we have 25 test days scheduled that will allow us to refine the tyres, if necessary, for the following season."

Only after these tests will we be able to get a good picture, as the cars will have completely different aerodynamics with different brakes and rim covers. For now, the teams will work with the collected data to optimise their car for the new season.