Pirelli: F1 safety and entertainment must be balanced in tyre warmer decision

Pirelli acknowledges that the potential elimination of the undercut due to a ban on tyre warmers will significantly impact Formula One racing.

Pirelli has been actively developing tyres that eliminate the need for pre-heating, and next month, teams and the FIA will vote on whether to implement a tyre warmer ban starting in 2024.

While safety concerns regarding cold tyres have been the primary focus of the discussions so far, with drivers questioning the trade-off between risk and cost-saving measures, Pirelli recognises that there are other important considerations.

One significant aspect is whether the change in tyres will have a detrimental effect on racing by reducing overtaking opportunities and strategic possibilities.

Mario Isola, Pirelli's head of F1, stated that comprehensive simulations will be conducted to assess the potential impact of racing without pre-heated tyres.

This evaluation aims to provide valuable insights into the consequences of such a change.

"The priority for us is safety first and we are not going to provide any tyre that is not safe," explained Isola.

"But the show is important and we need also in this analysis to understand what is the impact here, not just in warm-up, but in terms of level of degradation, peak of grip and these kinds of elements.

"We need to simulate, together with the FIA and F1, some races and race situations to see what are the strategies and so on. It may be that we discover that everybody is pushed towards a one-stop for many reasons.

"When we talk about strategy, it's a mix of factors. It is the degradation of the tyre, the time you lose in the pitlane, and how difficult it is to overtake, because obviously, traffic has a different influence on the strategy.

"We have always to consider the full package, as it is not just the tyre itself working on a car and on a circuit."