Mauro Isola, Pirelli's F1 director, said the close fight between Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz in the closing laps of the Canadian GP indicated that the tires are fulfilling their purpose of providing long-lasting contests on the track
The Canadian Grand Prix was marked by Ferrari's Carlos Sainz chasing Red Bull's Max Verstappen in the closing laps. Although the Spaniard did not actually have a chance to overtake, the two remained close for about 15 laps in a row. For Mauro Isola, Pirelli's F1 director, this would not have been possible in the past, and proves that the new regulations and the new tires are fulfilling the objective of allowing close disputes on the track.
"For me, the important thing about this race is that we saw close racing on the track. One of the goals this year was to have tight racing, not pure overtaking thanks to DRS or another system. The idea was to give drivers the opportunity to give it their all and fight on the track. And that's exactly what happened with Max [Verstappen] and Carlos [Sainz], but also further back with the Alpines and [Charles] Leclerc, and many other cars," Isola told the Autosport website.
"That means that the tires are giving this opportunity, along with the new cars, and it's good to see that this is happening. Obviously, we know we can improve in the future and we are working towards next year's tires. But I can say that the first objective was achieved and that was very important for us," celebrated the Italian.
The 2022 cars will once again use the ground effect, an aerodynamic concept that uses the car's floor to generate downforce. This way, Formula 1's expectation was to reduce the turbulence generated by the cars and provide closer competition on the track. In addition, the tires have also changed size, to 18 rim tires. For now, the balance is positive in Pirelli's view.
"Before, the car behind would start to lose downforce, slide and overheat the tires, so there is a big factor created by the new cars. And obviously, maintaining the aerodynamic pressure on both cars is helping the tires," Mauro explained.
"But also the new tires, this new compound family, is working better. We know that sometimes the medium and the soft are degrading a bit too much, but that's necessary, otherwise if you have tires that are behaving the same way, you don't generate any strategy," concluded the Pirelli director.