F1: Pirelli gives 3 teams decided advantage for 2023

Three teams will take part in additional Pirelli 2023 tire tests during December, giving them a decided advantage for 2023.

Three more tire tests have been confirmed by Pirelli, along with another two in early February when the 2022 cars will again be used.

Paul Ricard will host Alfa Romeo in a wet tire test on December 3-4.

On December 6-7, Fiorano, Ferrari’s local circuit, stages another test of the 2023 wet tires where Ferrari will be in action.

Then on December 14-15, attention turns back to the slicks when AlphaTauri will run at Portimao, which hosted the Portuguese Grand Prix in 2020 and 2021.

The start of February sees three more tests, the first two of which are back-to-back at Paul Ricard – featuring Mercedes (February 1-2, dry tires) and AlphaTauri (February 3-4, wet tires).

After a break of a couple of days, the final test will be at Spanish venue Jerez on February 7-8 when both Mercedes and Aston Martin put the dry tires through their paces.

Mario Isola, Pirelli’s head of motorsport, explained to media including PlanetF1 in Abu Dhabi: “We realized it was impossible with the 2022 calendar, and also with next year’s calendar, to organize all the test sessions we needed.

“One idea was to use FP2, as we used in Mexico and Austin, and another possibility was to organize a test [in the] off-season.

“In the regulations, we can use the current cars until December 15 and from February 1 to the first race of next year’s championship, using the 2022 cars. They cannot use the test in February to develop the 2023 car.

“The FIA is sending an observer to each test to check the configuration and parts used on the car have been used in any of the 2022 races.

“We have three wet sessions, three dry sessions. You have to have some wet sessions in cold conditions because one of the targets is to try to remove the blankets from wet-weather tires in 2023.

“I hope the conditions are not too cold because maybe at Fiorano in December we find the snow! But hopefully it will be good enough to have a wet-weather test.”