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Pirelli considering widening tyre operating window for 2020

Pirelli considering widening tyre operating window for 2020

06-06-2019 12:58
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Jake Williams-Smith

Pirelli could be set to make further changes to its tyre range for 2020. Most teams have struggled this season to identify the correct operating window for the 2019 variant of tyres.

While championship leaders Mercedes has leapt forward with the W10 on all fronts, its ability to make the 2019 Pirelli rubber work in most conditions versus its rivals has been a huge advantage.

Haas has struggled in particular to identify and keep the tyres in the optimum operating window this season, plaguing the teams' performances since Melbourne.

The move away from using tyre blankets and thinner tread on the tyres has hurt most teams however Pirelli motorsport boss Mario Isola says the manufacturer would be open to changing the tyres once again.

“What we are trying to do for next year is to focus on the working range, to make it wider,” Isola is quoted by Motorsport.com.

“In 2021 we will have 18-inch tyres, but without blankets, so we need to design compounds that are working without them. You need something that generates grip from 20 degrees to 120 degrees.

“This is giving us the opportunity to develop new compounds for 2021, so if we find something good in this research phase, then we can introduce in 2020, why not?

“If we find a new family of compounds with a new philosophy, that is making the working range much wider, then we can introduce this new family also in 2020 with 13-inch [tyres] and with blankets.

“It’s not that blankets will create an issue. They just start from a higher temperature.”

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