How tire tests are conducted in Formula 1

For most Formula 1 participants, the annual summer break has begun after the recent Belgian Grand Prix, however, a small group of Aston Martin engineers and mechanics stayed on at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit to participate in Pirelli tests, as the company continues to evaluate the properties of tire compounds for the next season.

Test driver and reserve driver of the team Stoffel Vandoorne, as well as its chief engineer Tom McCullough, told about how tire tests are conducted in F1.

"The tests are conducted by the tire supplier, who has complete freedom of action in terms of compiling their program," McCullough noted. "The teams help Pirelli during the development of tires both to increase their reliability and to improve grip, and despite the effectiveness of modern simulation tools, at the moment nothing can replace testing in real-world conditions with the same loads that the tires will be subjected to during the race."

According to him, in the tests, teams must use cars of the current generation, and the goal of the tests is determined by Pirelli, which can evaluate any aspect of the tires, i.e. characteristics of constructions, composition of the rubber mixture, etc.

"The teams conduct tests 'blindly', i.e. we don't know what tires will be installed on the car, but almost always the main task is to develop and evaluate the behavior of tires for the next year," McCullough says. "Pirelli tests tires with different compositions on cars with a small and large amount of fuel in the tanks to collect data that will help understand how to improve their characteristics."

Vandoorne adds that tires are one of the key components of a Formula car, since only they contact the track.

"Pirelli is constantly improving its tires, taking into account changes in the regulations and feedback from the teams," he said. "They use tests to evaluate new tire constructions and compounds that may appear in the championship in the future. During the day, we test many sets of tires, and this is useful for the team, as we can understand in advance in which direction Pirelli will move."