A technical directive issued by the FIA governing body, at the French Grand Prix, introduced temperature checks to ensure tyres were not being overheated to comply with minimum starting pressures — only for them to fall when on track. Pirelli also raised the minimum starting pressure by 2psi to reduce the loads on the sidewalls.
The new tyres, which incorporate some features in the 18in tyres that the cars will use next year, are another step in reducing the risk of blowouts.
“With this new structure Pirelli provides a tyre that can guarantee even greater levels of integrity under the extreme conditions that can be generated by the current cars,” the tyre manufacturer said in a statement.
Mandatory tyre pressure monitoring systems will feed live information back to the FIA and Pirelli from next year but until then, rulemakers are unable to see running pressures.