Pirelli Chief Makes a Bold Renault Prediction

Pirelli boss Mario Isola has claimed that Red Bull and Renault will be competitive in the 2019 season.

Pirelli have introduced a simpler tyre system for the 2019 season. In theory, the tyres should enable teams to push for longer stints in the race. This means that races will be more exciting as drivers will not have to preserve their tyres as much.

Isola, the F1 boss for sole tyre supplier Pirelli, said, “With the new regulations we have completely redesigned the tyres,” he said. “The objective was to reduce the overheating and the blistering.”

These new regulations have come into play alongside many others in Formula 1 in a bid to increase overtaking by 20%. When asked which teams he thought would do well in 2019, Isola said, “Red Bull will be close because the regulation change is not so great,” he said. “And I would not be surprised to see Renault competitive, as they are investing a lot.”

It will be interesting to see if his prediction turns out to be true and with only 41 days until the first race, there isn’t much longer left to wait.

There are also the official team launches to look forward to as well. First up will be the Haas F1 team on the 7th of February followed by Toro Rosso on the 11th. Renault unveil a day later while Mercedes, Racing Point and Red Bull break cover on the 13th.

McLaren have opted for a Valentine’s Day gift, while Ferrari will launch their challenger on the 15th. Finally, Alfa Romeo will be the last team to launch, on the 18th of February. That leaves only Williams as the sole team to reveal any launch date.

Whatever the case, the 2019 season should be very interesting indeed. Can Lewis Hamilton make it title number six, or will Sebastian Vettel level the score? Or will someone else win it this year.