Fears of the global coronavirus pandemic have created more than just ripples across the automotive world—it's safe to say by now that the ripples have turned into full blown tidal waves. Both Ferrari and Lamborghini shut down production, while Formula 1 canceled the Australian Grand Prix and plans no races until as late as May or June.
But the big waves make headlines while, as is often the case, the ripples still spread and create all kinds of secondary issues. Compared to the lives of thousands of patients, coronavirus fears putting a halt to motorsport is of little concern. However, the extent of the pandemic can be viewed through the lens of smaller, more immediate effects like the fact that Pirelli had to destroy all 1,800 tires planned for use at the Australian Grand Prix.
Business As Usual
Pirelli signed on as Formula 1's sole tire supplier in 2010, taking over duties for the 2011 season. Since then, tire technology has steadily evolved and Pirelli has been tasked with not only developing new tires for every car and every team competing on every conceivable road condition at every track across the globe, but with mounting the tires on wheels and delivering them to the races, as well. In total, that number reaches 1,800 tires for each F1 race, the majority of which are used and demolished during the tire-shredding competition.
Another Day At The Office
In fact, as reported by Road & Track, Pirelli would typically have to destroy 560 tires designed for wet conditions if an F1 race doesn't receive rain. That's because Pirelli only mounts tires at the races themselves, not beforehand, when shipping outside of Europe. When tires at international events don't get used, they would have to be dismounted in order to be shipped to the next Grand Prix, a process that would affect the bead enough to jeopardize performance. And so, the recent destruction of 1,800 tires isn't actually too far off from another day at the office—thankfully, Pirelli does this job enough that they've got connections to recycle the tires and turn them into cement.
Source: Road and Track