Key test moment for Pirelli: do 2023 tyres meet requirements?

Pirelli is gearing up for an important test in the United States. The second free practice session will test the new tyres for 2023, after the first attempt in Japan could not go ahead due to rain.

The second free practice session for the United States Grand Prix is all about Pirelli's tyre test. The one-and-a-half-hour session requires F1 teams to run on the prototype tyres for 2023. In doing so, Pirelli is particularly keen to make the front tyres stiffer to remedy this season's understeer problem.

Pirelli's test

The first test was scheduled in Japan, but heavy rain on Friday prevented that session from going ahead. Mario Isola did regret that, as the Suzuka circuit is tough on tyres and would therefore have been a good test. That test has now been moved to the Mexican Grand Prix.

"The second free practice session will be dedicated to slick tyre testing for 2023, weather permitting. Weather conditions in Austin have been extremely variable in the past, so it’s a circuit where you have to be ready for anything!,'' Isola informed in the Pirelli press release.

Teams using a rookie in the first free practice will be allowed to spend half an hour of FP2 on its own programme with the regular driver who missed the first session. For example, Ferrari is giving Robert Shwartzman a test at the Circuit of the Americas, McLaren is giving IndyCar driver Alex Palou a chance and Logan Sargeant has already been confirmed by Williams.