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Pirelli predicts exciting race at Imola: 'It will be very difficult for engineers'

Pirelli predicts exciting race at Imola: 'It will be very difficult for engineers'

24-08-2020 13:30 Last update: 13:53

GPblog.com

With Imola, Mugello and Portimao, Formula 1 enters three circuits where it has not been in a long time or has never raced at all. What does this mean for tyre supplier Pirelli?

Which tyres does Pirelli choose?

Pirelli has been the tyre supplier in Formula 1 since 2011 and has come under pressure on more than one occasion. As a result, blisters often appear on the Italian supplier's tyres and sometimes they break out of nowhere. In the direction of the new circuits, Formula 1 has worked with Pirelli to make the right choices.

''We worked together with Formula One Management and the FIA to simulate new circuits such as Mugello and Portimao, because there too the wear and tear is high. Of course we have experience with other classes on that circuit, because the GT cars drive there more often in the year'', says Mario Isola to Racefans.net.

Tension at Imola

Still, it is not easy for Pirelli's top man to convert those data for the Formula 1 cars. ''The F1 cars are very different, so we need good simulations to predict the amount of pressure on the tyres. For example, we can't say that we don't want to go to a particular track. It's a difficult time for everyone and F1 is working hard to get a calendar'', says Isola.

At Mugello the tyre wear is high, but another surprise is Imola, where the teams only get one free practice to test. ''It will be very interesting and I also think it will be unpredictable. For the engineers it will be a lot more difficult to get the setup right'', the Italian concludes.