18-inch tyres on the way: 'Are about 80-90% ready'

Pirelli boss Mario Isola says the new tyres that will be used in 2022 are '80-90% ready'. This means that the Italian tyre supplier is in the final phase of optimising the 18-inch tyres.

Albon and Kubica test in Barcelona

Today both Red Bull Racing and Alfa Romeo were testing for Pirelli at Circuit de Catalunya. Alexander Albon stepped into an F1 car for the first time since leaving Red Bull after Abu Dhabi last year, while Robert Kubica drove the laps for Alfa Romeo.

New tyres are almost ready

"In terms of development, we are in the process of finalising the construction and the profile," Isola says of the new tyres at Motorsport.com. "I would say we are at 80-90% the construction is finalised, and now we are starting a test campaign on new compounds."

Totally new cars are coming for 2022, which are currently not ready. To be able to test the tyres in the best possible way Pirelli will use mule cars to give a sufficiently representative picture for next year's cars. Nevertheless, Isola admits that only in 2022 will it be possible to see how the tyres really respond to the new aerodynamics.