F1: Pirelli bringing 2024 tire to Suzuka
Pirelli Tire Head of Motorsports, Mario Isola, says they will bring a test tire to Suzuka this weekend, so drivers can provide feedback for 2024.
“The Japanese Grand Prix takes place on one of the most fascinating and demanding tracks in Formula 1 history: Suzuka, with its unique figure of eight layout.
“This historic venue is a drivers’ favorite, being absolutely thrilling to drive in today’s ultra-competitive single-seaters.
“With its very significant lateral and vertical loads, Suzuka is as demanding on tires as it is on drivers.
“These demands are equally distributed across all four wheels, with 10 right-handers and eight left-handers throughout the six-kilometer lap.
“As a result of these challenging characteristics, we bring some of the hardest tires in the 2023 range to Japan: C1, C2, and C3. This is only nominally the same as last year’s selection due to the new C1 compound, which was introduced this season to slot in between the C2 and former C1 (now called C0).
“On Friday, all the teams will get the chance to test a new version of the C2 compound, with a view to homologating it for next season. This latest evolution should provide more grip than the current C2, and so fit in more coherently between the C1 and C3.
“For the first two free practice sessions, each driver will have two additional sets of tires, compared to the usual 13 sets per weekend. This test is part of a development program that was recently defined for 2024 and will continue with a new C4 compound to be tested on track during the Mexican Grand Prix weekend.”
Japanese Grand Prix weather forecast
Friday
If there’s going to be any wet weather running, it’s probably going to come on Friday.
There’s a solid 70% chance of precipitation for the day when the FP1 and FP2 sessions are held, potentially causing some issues for teams hoping to test out their setups in the dry weather expected for the race.
Saturday
The good news for those teams is that Saturday’s running should be dry all day, with something like a 15% chance of rain.
That means that, paired with a forecast high temperature of 28ºC, the track should be in perfect condition for FP3 and Saturday’s qualifying session.
Sunday
And for race day? Expect even more sun and even less rain, with just a 10% chance of precipitation for Sunday in Suzuka.
That means that any team hoping to use the chaos of wet weather running to their advantage will be disappointed, having to rely instead on the more traditional method of ‘having a fast car’ and ‘having two drivers who drive fast’.