Formula One Provides a Sneak Preview of 18 Inch Tyres for 2021 Season

Formula One took a step closer to the future, or to be more specific, the 2021 Formula 1 season. This was when the proposed 18 inch wheels were tested for the very first time, using a Renault driven by Sergey Sirotkin. It also gave the fans and the motorsport world a taste of what was to come in the 2021 season.

The Renault reserve driver was behind the wheel of a specially configured ‘mule’ car. This test took place on the opening day of a two-day test at the Paul Ricard circuit in France. However, Sirotkin was not alone on the track, as he was joined by 2020 Renault driver Esteban Ocon. Ocon was on track for a completely different reason, which was the 2020 tyre testing for Pirelli in a Mercedes.

Speaking about the tests, Pirelli’s F1 Head, Mario Isola, revealed, “I don’t have a clear idea what to expect” ahead of the 2021 tyre test. The tyre test came in the wake of a demonstration run of the 18-inch tyres on a Formula 2 car in Monza.

“We started the F2 tests with 18-inches. That is going quite well, so hopefully we have the same result with Formula 1,” explained Isola. “I don’t want to call it a ‘shakedown’, because we are going to test for two days and we have a programme that is quite big.

“We want to test different solutions to have a better idea. We have these three sessions to understand and assess the baseline for next year and then, obviously, we will have a full year of development next year to finalise. The challenge is big, as I’ve said many times.”

As per F1 Chief Technical Officer Pat Symonds the 18-inch tyres will make a significant difference to how the F2 cars are driven. All the fans and drivers have to do is wait and see what comes of the tests.