Isola cannot yet make any statements about tyre wear in 2022

Pirelli boss Mario Isola hopes the new 18-inch wheels can help improve the spectacle in 2022. The Italian looks back on a test that went well at the end of the season.

In 2022, Formula 1 will make the switch from 13-inch wheels to 18-inch wheels. According to Isola, it was a very tough job to develop and optimise the tyres in a season that counted no less than 22 Grands Prix. The tyre specialist reveals that the tyres were developed in a new way.

"Our drivers are asking for less overheating, less degradation, they want to push on tyres, they want to fight on track," Isola says in conversation with F1.com. According to the Italian, it has been agreed with the FIA, the FOM and the teams to follow this direction accordingly. To meet these requirements Pirelli had to design a new profile and construction for all possible compounds.

The 18-inch tyres were last tested in Abu Dhabi, just after the last Grand Prix of the season which was also held there. Isola can confirm through that test that there is indeed less overheating and that drivers can push more. "That was important in Abu Dhabi because in Abu Dhabi we had also some traffic," Isola reveals. In other tests during the season, there were only two cars on the track at most, while in Abu Dhabi all the teams were present.

What Isola is not yet able to say is the wear of the tyres. This is because the performance of the real 2022 cars is not yet known to Pirelli.