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With the ongoing excitement of the new 2017 regulations continuing, Motorsport Director of Pirelli Paul Hembery has been speaking about the new wider tyres that will come into play for the 2017 season.
The tyres are designed to give drivers more grip when throwing the cars into corners, which will see cornering speeds rise. The tyres were unveiled earlier in the year at Monaco and received a fantastic reception according to Hembery.
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"To achieve a higher level of performance that approximately equates to lap times that are five seconds per lap faster than Barcelona 2015 - which is the reference time - we need higher downforce and increased cornering speeds; so wider tyres were also needed to cope with this," Hembery said.
"The reaction so far [to the way they look] has been overwhelmingly positive, ever since we revealed the new look of the tyres in a static display at the Monaco Grand Prix. Personally, I think they look stunning."
Pirelli have conducted two tests in which the tyres were used to collect data and information on how they perform, but despite being pleased with the progress so far, Hembery admits that there is still a lot more work to do.
"Both tests went exactly as planned: we had many laps driven and plenty of information collected, which will be relevant for the coming tests in September. The objective was to get a first look at some of the dynamics at work with the new size of tyre; obviously there is still plenty of work left to do.
"We’re planning to introduce a number of new elements on both the structure and compound side during the coming tests as we finalise the 2017 specification, so this is much more than just a data collection exercise: it’s instead an on-going programme of research, development and evolution."
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