Pirelli looks likely to avoid making any revisions to the C2 tyre compound for the 2024 Formula 1 season after conducting tests during the Japanese Grand Prix last month.
F1’s official tyre supplier sought to identify whether a new softer form of the C2 compound (the third hardest in the range of C0 to C5) was required to bring it closer in performance to the C3 and further from the C1.
Each driver was handed two sets of the test compound for use in Friday practice at the legendary Suzuka circuit.
However, reports suggest little change in performance from the new compound and the prototype C2 is unlikely to make a full-time appearance next year.
“Looking at the data, and also considering the track evolution, I believe that the prototype doesn’t have the grip that we were looking for,” Pirelli’s head of car racing Mario Isola told Autosport.
“So, we will probably stay on the current C2 for next year.
“Without a clear result, a clear step in grip, there is no reason to change and introduce a new compound when we have the current C2 that is working well.
“It is just a bit too close to the C1, and a bit too far from the C3, and that’s why we wanted to test the prototype.”
With the prototype C2 test concluded, Pirelli will now look ahead to Mexico, with a prototype C4 compound set to make an appearance.
The prototype compound seeks to eradicate issues of “graining” and “improve the mechanical resistance” compared to the current C4 tyre, which Isola told Autosport is considered to be “a bit peaky” following driver and team feedback.
Tyre grip, performance and degradation levels have been a talking point throughout F1’s long history, with Pirelli – the sole tyre supplier since 2011 – often being caught in a balancing act of creating a tyre suitable for close racing and peak-performing rubber that teams and engineers crave.
As well as reevaluating several compounds on the C0-C5 range of rubber, Pirelli has recently been looking into the use of tyres without the use of blankets – but that decision has been shelved until at least 2025, following a number of complaints from drivers.
Another issue Pirelli has been combatting is the implementation of its Wet tyre compound, with many criticising it for not being suitable in racing conditions and often leading to wet-weather races being delayed until Intermediate compounds are viable.
Pirelli’s long-term future as F1’s sole-tyre supplier is also being considered, with the tender process for 2025-2027 having been opened by the FIA earlier this year.
Bridgestone, Pirelli’s predecessor as F1 tyre supplier, are said to be in the running, but F1 team bosses said last month that there are “many millions of reasons” to continue with Pirelli going forward.
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