Pirelli starts with the 18-inch tyre: 'Unfortunately we can't go on the track''

Pirelli has resumed work on the 18-inch tyre for 2022. The tyre that would officially make its entrance in 2021 now has to wait a year for its debut in Formula 1. However, that doesn't mean that people are sitting still in Italy.

The new rubber that will be in Formula 1 in 2022 has hardly been developed by Pirelli. In February of this year Charles Leclerc did one test with it, but the coronavirus slowed down further development. With its introduction in 2022, Pirelli now has more time to test.

Pirelli starts again

''We've started developing the tyre again, but unfortunately we can't enter the track at the moment. Although we didn't have to close because of the FIA, we had to deal with the lockdown in Italy, so it took some time before we could get back into action. At home, however, the simulations have continued, but testing is impossible," says Mario Isola to Motorsport.com.

However, with the test of Ferrari, Pirelli has already obtained some data about the tyres and that data has also been shared directly. ''After the test with Ferrari and the three sessions in 2019, we have a solid basis for the new tyre. We have to start with that and that information has already been shared with all the teams'', concludes the top man of Pirelli.