Pirelli’s C2 tyre looks set to remain unchanged for the 2024 Formula One season after testing of a new prototype in Suzuka failed to produce any progress
Pirelli is likely to refrain from changing its C2 tyre compound in Formula One next year after testing a prototype at the Japanese Grand Prix failed to produce any improvement. Formula One’s official tyre supplier had been considering some changes to the tyre compound for next year to address some minor issues.
Among other things, it was considering making the C2 compound – the third hardest compound in the range from C0 to C5 – slightly softer. The reason for this was that it had proved to be quite close to C1 and a little too far from C3 in terms of performance, so a slight shift would have helped to even out the differences between the compounds.
In line with Formula One’s regulations for tyre testing, Pirelli distributed two sets of the softer prototype C2 compound to each driver for Friday’s Japanese Grand Prix practice.
Prototype failed to deliver the desired grip
First feedback from the race with the modified C2 compound, however, showed that it did not deliver the hoped-for performance boost, so Pirelli will now almost certainly stick with the current compounds until 2024.
Asked by Motorsport.com about the results of Friday’s practice in Japan, Pirelli race director Mario Isola said, “Looking at the data and also taking into account the evolution of the track, I don’t think the prototype has the grip we had hoped for. “
“That’s why we will probably stay with the current C2 next year. Without a clear result, a clear step in terms of grip, there’s no reason to introduce a new compound when we have the current C2 which works well,” said Isola. “It’s just a bit too close to the C1 and a bit too far away from the C3, so we wanted to test the prototype. “
A new C4 tyre is being tested in Mexico
Pirelli stated that the test of the revised C2 was a one-off and that no further tests are planned. However, at this month’s Mexican Grand Prix, Pirelli will test a revised C4 prototype, which they hope will have better characteristics.
This, however, unlike the C2 tyre, is not about changing the grip of the tyre and therefore its position within the different compounds, he said. “The C4 has shown a lot of graining during the season. So we want to improve the mechanical durability and have a wider working range because the feedback from the teams is that the C4 is a bit spiky,” Isola explains.
In addition to the test of the C4 prototype scheduled for Mexico, Pirelli has also announced that it will use softer tyre compounds at the Grand Prix than last year. The hard, medium and soft tyres will be C3, C4 and C5 respectively.
