Formula 1 teams and drivers will be able to utilise an upgraded wet weather tyre for the 2023 season after the previous specification was criticised by drivers.
The tyre will be available from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which marks the sixth round of the upcoming campaign.
The previous wet-weather tyre was condemned by multiple drivers for kicking up severe spray in rain conditions, as well as not being able to clear enough water.
“We need better rain tyres because I think the extremes are just slow and they can’t really carry a lot of water away,” said two-time F1 champion Max Verstappen following last year’s wet Japanese Grand Prix.
“That’s why everyone always tries to switch very quickly to an intermediate because it’s just so much faster per lap, like you could see from one to the other lap, we went from the extreme to the inter and we immediately went five seconds at least faster and that is just too big.
“And that’s why nobody really wants to run that extreme. And when it rained like it did when the red flag came out and you would have put extreme tyres on, I think it would still be really difficult to drive.
“But then if you compare that to 20 years ago, that would have been perfectly fine. So there must be a solution.”
F1’s tyre supplier Pirelli has conducted research with the support of teams and has now arrived at a solution with the new compound.
The fresh tyre was approved at the F1 Commission meeting on Tuesday, with the FIA stating that the upgrade is “much more performant than the previous specification”.
It was also highlighted that it does not require the use of blankets, which are traditionally used to retain temperature throughout the tyres.
Outside of the wet weather specification, further changes are coming to Pirelli’s range of tyres this year, confirmed late last year by the Italian manufacturer.
A sixth dry weather tyre will be added to the selection, with the C1 being renamed to the C0 compound.
The new C1 tyre will offer more grip to the drivers in 2023 compared to the old-spec version.
The rest of the range, which spans from C2 to C5, will remain unchanged from 2022.
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