Pirelli expands on work BBS; adds on temperature management

Mario Isola speaks on the work done by Pirelli Motorsport with sole F1 rims supplier BBS to prepare for 2022 plus temperature management.

Another newbie of sorts for 2022 is the single supplier arrangement of wheel rims. Just like Pirelli are the sole supplier of tyres, earlier this month it was advised BBS were confirmed as the single supplier of the aforementioned product.

It is over two years since they won the tender to supply the F1 grid. COVID-19 in 2021 curtailed that of course and the new 18-inch tyres were delayed to the forthcoming season. But the burning question amongst the Grand Prix paddock is quite simply; ‘does such an item have an impact on performance trackside’?

Some might say that it would not and will not have any bearing however Pirelli guru Isola gives a detailed verdict and opinion on what some persons might deem to be a slightly irrelevant product “We have a working group that was managed by the FIA together with BBS, Pirelli and also the supplier of the sensor that is also standard,” he said.

“We started, in 2020, to develop these. It was two years ago because we had to postpone the introduction of the 18-inch tyre for the pandemic. So we had a longer period compared to a normal situation. We worked together with BBS; we also ran some tests with the 18-inch tyres fitted on BBS rims.

“It was a very useful approach to have this working group. They were meeting every week to monitor the progression of the activity,” summed up Isola. With same tyres and wheels, one would expect very little between the teams performance wise.

However, the focal area of temperature management is where Isola reckons teams will make changes, higher and lower temperatures doing their bit in ‘switching on’ the tyres to unlock performance. The new thing with the rims with the tyres will be wheel covers which will limit the direct airflow onto the brakes.

“In terms of how the teams will manage the temperature, that is difficult to predict, because this year, we have more space between the rim and the brake,” said Isola. “So, in the past, we know that the teams were using the heat transfer from the brake to the rim to manage the temperature inside the tyre, and so to manage also the pressure.

“It will be different in 2022. I believe that is still in part a performance differentiator, so the teams will try to use this in 2022. If they are able to do that, we will see in the future,” summed up Isola. There are those who reckon the new rules and changes coupled with the biggest one, new 18-inches Pirelli tyres could throw up some surprises in the early stages of the season.

The pre season testing at Barcelona next month could prove to be a massive benchmark for the whole grid. While there may be surprises early on, no doubt that those at the front over the last while should still be there but the racing could be closer. With so many changes, driver ability, team-work and feedback will be a very vital ingredient this season.

Here’s Pirelli on no changes on compounds

Here’s Williams banking on Pirelli data

Here’s Mario Isola on performance of 18-inches tyres

Here’s Pirelli speaking on findings in Abu Dhabi test