From track to road
One of the concepts that Pirelli talks about most is ‘track to road’ – but what does that actually mean? After all, you can’t actually take a Formula 1 car onto the road (unless you happen to be somewhere like Monaco or Singapore for the grand prix weekend, in which case it’s actively encouraged).
But now, there’s a brand-new initiative from Pirelli together with Formula 1’s promoter that illustrates perfectly what we mean by technology transfer from track to road. And it’s never been done before. Welcome to the Pirelli hot laps programme, starting in Bahrain this year.
The new scheme gives people a chance to experience what it’s like to be driven flat-out in a supercar by a grand prix driver on the actual circuit during the race weekend. In other words, the closest possible experience to taking part: with the added opportunity to observe drivers and circuits from a privileged position to discover just what makes them so special.
The idea is capture the essence of performance: not only from the supercars themselves, but also from their P Zero tyres, which are developed from the experience honed on race tracks. This year, these famous tyres for the road get the chance to come home.