Analysis: Tyre stats, facts and trivia for the 2023 F1 season

Although the 2024 Formula 1 season is simply round the nook, F1Technical’s senior author Balázs Szabó takes a glance again at the final 12 months’s championship, choosing up some key facts relating to the tyre useage.

Formula One has had 9 totally different tyre suppliers since the delivery of the championship. During the early years in the Fifties and Nineteen Sixties, F1 tyres have been provided by Dunlop, Avon, Englebert, Firestone, Continental and Goodyear. While the first eleven years of the championship sported a number of tyre suppliers, 1961 noticed Dunlop turn into the sole tyre producer with the British firm having held this unique contract with the sport for three years.

In 1964, Goodyear joined Dunlop in supplying tyres to F1 groups. The Japanese tyre producer Bridgestone joined the sport in 1976, however stayed solely for two years. Michelin adopted swimsuit in the subsequent season, however stayed for an extended interval till 1984.

1987 marked the begin of the second interval with solely a single tyre provider when Goodyear held an unique contract with Formula One for two seasons. However, Goodyear was joined by Pirelli three years later for the following three seasons, however the American tyre producer served as the sole tyre provider once more between 1992 and 1996.

1999 and 2000 noticed Bridgestone provide each staff with their merchandise earlier than partaking in warfare with French tyre producer Michelin. Following a four-year interval between 2007 and 2010 that noticed the Japanese tyre producer provide F1 with tyre solely, Pirelli took over the unique contract

Record-equalling season

With the cancellation of the Chinese and the Emilia Romagna F1 rounds, the 2023 season stretched over 22 races with which the sport equalled its earlier document of twenty-two races in a single season.

In whole, Pirelli’s Formula 1 tyres drove practically eight occasions round Earth’s circumference all through the 22 Grands Prix that made up the 2023 season. Specifically, 307,925.8 kilometres have been travelled over 60,473 laps by the 6,847 units of tyres that have been pushed for not less than one lap by drivers from the 10 groups that made up this 12 months’s Formula 1 World Championship.

It isn’t a surprise that the overwhelming majority of that distance was coated on the slick tyres: solely 6.31% of these kilometres have been pushed on the Cinturato Intermediate or Cinturato Extreme Wet. The key protagonist was the C3 which was nominated for each race: used for 105,499 kilometres, which is greater than a 3rd of the whole distance pushed (36.57%). The C4 was the second most-used compound, with 27.43% of the whole, adopted by the C2 (15.41%) and C5 (13.55%). The least-used compound was the C1, with 5.73% of the whole distance. The 3,800 kilometres pushed throughout grand prix weekends on prototype tyres additionally should be added to the whole: in Barcelona, Suzuka, and Mexico City.

The longest stints

As for the longest stints are involved, McLaren rookie driver Oscar Piastri stood out together with his extraordinarily long term in Jeddah. On solely his second Formula 1 race look, the Australian was compelled to cease at the finish of lap one to alter a broken entrance wing following contact with Pierre Gasly. At the identical time, he bolted on a set of C2 tyres that he drove all the solution to the flag: a complete distance of 302.5 kilometres. In doing so, Piastri went two kilometres additional than Esteban Ocon, who drove a single set of C3 tyres for 302.5 kilometres in Baku after beginning on them from the pit lane, earlier than making his obligatory pit cease on the penultimate of 51 scheduled laps.

The Azerbaijan road circuit was additionally the scene of the longest stint of the 12 months on the softest compound: Valtteri Bottas accomplished the whole dash race distance on Saturday afternoon (17 laps, equal to 102 kilometres) with a set of C5 tyres. Bottas additionally holds the document for the longest distance on the hardest compound; particularly 32 laps (equal to 188.4 kilometres) at Silverstone. The longest stint on the C4 was accomplished by one other Alfa Romeo driver: Guanyu Zhou, who used it for 212.7 kilometres in Singapore.

Three totally different tyre allocations

Throughout the 2023 season, there have been three totally different weekend codecs with particular guidelines regarding tyre use. A complete of 14 races adopted the basic weekend schedule of three free observe periods, qualifying, and the race. On a regular weekend, drivers are given 13 units of dry climate tyres, 4 units of intermediates and three units of full wets.

The 2024 F1 season options six Sprint weekends – with only one free observe on Friday, adopted by race qualifying, and Saturday’s Sprint Shootout and Sprint race, earlier than the Grand Prix on Sunday. On a dash weekend, drivers obtain 12 units of slick tyres, fairly than the normal 13.

Finally, the Alternative Tyre Allocation format was trialled on two events, with the purpose of taking a look at methods to handle tyre use extra effectively. The ATA comprised three units of hards, 4 units of mediums and simply 4 units of softs. That was one further set of every of the hards and mediums in comparison with a regular weekend however with the variety of tender units out there halved from the normal eight. The format that got here into drive first in Hungary and then in Italy, is not going to return in 2024.

About a thousand units of slicks for the 22 occasions have been by no means used, whereas one other 732 have been pushed solely for one to a few laps. As for the excessive moist tyres, Pirelli adopted a ‘strip and fit’ methodology this 12 months; permitting tyres that have been fitted however by no means was carried over to different occasions. This will assist the groups to enhance their tyre administration, on condition that in 2023, for instance, 1,304 units of intermediate and moist tyres by no means accomplished a lap.

Weather situations

The Dutch Grand Prix was the race with the most tyre modifications this 12 months (counting each ‘real’ pit stops and tyre modifications underneath a pink flag). Because the climate stored on altering, with intermittent rain, there have been 82 tyre modifications in whole, utilizing each sort of tyre: the three slick compounds, intermediates, and excessive wets have been all seen on tack at varied factors. By distinction, the race with the fewest tyre modifications was Miami, the place all 20 drivers carried out simply their one compulsory pit cease underneath the guidelines. The whole variety of tyre modifications throughout the 12 months (contemplating the dash races as nicely) was 871.

Austin proved to be the hottest race of the 12 months by way of ambient temperature, with 34.7 levels centigrade on Saturday throughout the Sprint race and 32.8 levels throughout Sunday’s Grand Prix. Zandvoort was the coolest, with a median temperature of 15.1 levels. In phrases of asphalt temperature, Hungaroring was the hottest race of the 12 months with 53.6 levels, whereas the coolest was Las Vegas with 18.5 levels.