Pirelli has been given permission by the FIA to carry out 12 days of tyre testing during the 2016 season, as it prepares for major changes in 2017.
The tyre supplier has been arguing the need for more testing opportunities, particularly with the upcoming changes to the cars a year from now, which could see them lapping up to five seconds quicker.
The updated sporting regulations state in article 10.6: “In consultation with the teams and the appointed tyre supplier, the FIA reserves the right to organise up to six two-day tests for the sole purpose of providing the supplier with the chance to test improvements to the design of their tyres.”
It’s expected that Pirelli will provide between two and three seconds of the laptime gain in 2017, by increasing the width of its tyres.
Therefore the Italian company had requested the maximum amount of testing possible, to ensure it can meet the brief without risking safety.
However it faces yet another hurdle which has yet to be resolved – that of a test mule.
Current F1 cars don’t produce the required downforce and would need modifying heavily to run wider tyres, meaning a team would have to bare the unwelcome cost.
It has however been suggested that Pirelli use a decade old car, which would not only be cheaper to source, but also cheaper to modify.
