Pirelli's Paul Hembery has described the process of developing Formula 1's 2017 tyres their "biggest challenge" since they re-entered the sport back in 2011.
Next year will see the introduction of wider tyres in order to cope with the increased downforce the 2017 cars will produce, as a result of a wider chassis and front-wing and a lower rear-wing as well as other aerodynamic tweaks.
Pirelli have yet to face a major change to the technical regulations, bar the switch from a V8 engine to a V6-hybrid power unit, therefore next year presents somewhat of an unknown, though Hembery is confident Pirelli can handle whatever is thrown at them despite the complexity of the task ahead.
"Creating these completely new tyres is in fact the biggest challenge we’ve faced since we started in F1 in 2011, so the scale of the workload we’re undertaking shouldn’t be underestimated," Hembery told Grand Prix Times.
"While it’s obviously well within our capability, this is definitely an ambitious and complex project."
Currently Pirelli are testing their tyres on three mule cars which have been modified to simulate 2017 downforce levels, provided by Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes.
Hembery however explained that whilst they have an estimated downforce increase to work with, the mule cars might not be hitting that target which could cause certain development issues.
"The new regulations for 2017 indicate an expected downforce increase of about 20 per cent," he added. "Together with the teams, that’s the broad objective we’re aiming for with the mule car aerodynamics.
"But the mule car is by nature a compromise and it will be hard to replicate exactly the 2017 downforce requirements.
"We also will have three different vehicles so it is important to know how close we are to those new regulations, as the aero load dramatically affects the tyre usage and performance."
Whilst they're working with an estimated 20 per cent increase, there remains the chance that next year's cars could produce significantly more, but Hembery doesn't consider that a cause for concern.
"Of course that’s a possibility and if it happens we will manage it, together with the teams and the FIA.
"The whole history of Formula 1 shows that performance progress is continuous, so we’re prepared for every contingency: this year’s increase in speeds compared to last year was probably a bit more than most people anticipated, and we’ve managed that effectively.
"So this is something that will be monitored of course, but it’s not a possibility that we are in any way worried about."
