What makes Zandvoort such a difficult task for tyre supplier Pirelli
Interview
Not only for the drivers and teams, the Zandvoort circuit is quite a challenge. For Pirelli, Formula 1's tyre supplier, too, the circuit is quite a challenge. In an exclusive interview with GPblog, Mario Isola, motorsport director of Pirelli, explains how it is done.
After the first free practice session at Zandvoort, the appointment with Isola. FP1 was of little value in itself due to the rain and wind during the session. So little data for Pirelli to work with. Fortunately, Pirelli has a lot of data to draw on from past years. Indeed, over the past three years, the Italian tyre supplier has learned a lot about the unique circuit in the Netherlands.
''Zandvoort is special because it's an old-fashioned circuit with some characteristics that are not common across other circuits. Banked corners, for example, that are not so common and obviously are putting some additional energy on tyres. The asphalt is aggressive, not one of the most aggressive, but obviously this has an influence on tyre behaviour.''
''There is the sea here with the sand that is coming on track, especially with this wind *Laughs*. And so also this is an element that we should consider when we look at the track evolution, for example. So weather that is changing every five minutes is something that is creating some headache for the teams. Because of all these conditions, we often choose the hardest tyre compounds (at Zandvoort).''
What makes Zandvoort so tricky for Pirelli
The three corners with steep gradient make Zandvoort unique. Pirelli takes the hardest tyres, but has also learned more and more over the years about the setup needed in such a weekend. All those guidelines are passed on to the teams.
''We take into account with the whole range of tyres, because the banked corners have an effect on construction more than compounds. Obviously you stress the compound, but also you give an extra stress to the construction. And that's why when we make our analysis and calculation to assess the level of integrity, we have to consider the banked corners.''
''In the simulation that we receive from the teams, this is a very important parameter to consider. You have, obviously, cars running quicker on banked corners. And then that means that you put additional load on tyres that we have to consider when we define the maximum camber, the minimum pressure and all the parameters that we impose to the teams.''
That two of the banking corners are to the right and one to the left makes no difference to the tyre design. Pirelli is in fact taking into account the toughest scenario with the tyre design.