08/07/2016
NEWS STORY
With the current regulations stating that drivers must choose their tyre compounds 14 weeks in advance of flyaway races, in order that Pirelli can produce the requisite number and send them, by sea, to the event, the new 2017 regulations and intensive test schedule is presenting the Italian manufacturer with a major logistical problem.
This year, the tyre choices for the season opener in Melbourne had to be made in December, and a similar schedule this year, when the new (for 2017) tyres are still being tested in November, makes Pirelli's task, and that of the teams and drivers, all the more difficult.
Consequently, the Italian manufacturer is hoping that for the opening flyaway races, it will be allowed to choose the tyre sets issued to each driver.
"The plan is to keep the same regulations," said Pirelli's Racing Manager, Mario Isola. "Of course we are discussing with the teams how we can implement this at the beginning of the year, because they will have a complete new product, complete new compounds, so it's difficult to select the compounds 14 weeks in advance for the first races.
"This is something that we have to discuss," he continued. "In my opinion the regulation is working, so we have no reason to change it, but we need to find a solution at least for the first three or four races.
"We don't know the calendar at the moment, but consider the calendar that we had this year. From winter testing to the first race, we had two weeks. In two weeks, even if you air freight the tyres, you don't have time to produce and air freight the tyres. So it's not enough. We can shorten the time at the beginning of the season, using air freight, but if you want to go to Australia, you need three or four weeks."
Isola insists that Pirelli making the choice would be the obvious logistical solution.
"In that case we can produce the tyres in advance," he said. "If they decide for example to have a fixed allocation at the beginning of the year, we can start producing. The plan is to finish the development of the 2017 product at the end of November.
"Our sessions are planned to have a final validation in Abu Dhabi, after the race," he concluded. "And this final validation is to check everything is OK. The compounds are OK, construction is OK. And after that we have the product available, and we can start production at the beginning of December."
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