Pirelli Motorsport boss Mario Isola has dismissed speculation that some Formula 1 teams could use a water-cooling technique to manipulate tire temperatures, saying there is currently no evidence to support such a theory .

The rumors emerged after last September’s Singapore Grand Prix, where moisture was allegedly found in the rims after tires were removed, sparking suspicions that some teams might be injecting water or a specific liquid into their tires through valves to keep them cool during races.

The unusual discovery, apparently identified by Red Bull, led the Milton Keynes-based team to encourage the FIA ​​to investigate the matter, with the FIA’s Nikolas Tombazis consulting with Pirelli and overseeing a tire inspection after the sprint race at Interlagos .

However, the official inspection report from the event indicated that all tires inspected were fully compliant with the regulations.

Isola, while expressing Pirelli’s commitment to helping the FIA, stressed that no anomalies were detected.

“I don’t see anything strange in the data we have. I have no proof,” commented the Italian engineer, quoted by Motorsport.com.

“Obviously, as I said, it’s now up to the FIA ​​to decide what to do and tell us if we can support them, because at the end of the day the only thing we can do is support them.”

“If we can do anything to check or to give them advice on a possible situation, we are there to support them.

“I’m not aware of any problems, but I’ve heard the story and also tried to understand why this should be done, and now I have an idea. But for the rest, everything is in the hands of the FIA.

Although injecting water into tires would in theory be a simple process, the implications are complex and involve potential downsides, according to Isola.

“How to do this is very simple,” he said. “You have a valve – and you just put water in it.

“But how the system works is another story. It is essentially a thermal effect: transfer of heat between the tire and the rim which should give more consistency or less degradation to the tire, even if we control the pressure less well.

“Obviously, if you have steam inside the tire, you lose control of the pressure because you have higher pressure.”

Injecting water or other substances to modify tire characteristics would be a direct violation of a previous FIA technical directive prohibiting such modifications.

This directive was originally issued after discussions regarding some teams potentially using alternative gases inside tires to control pressure.

“The TD came a few years ago when there was a discussion about it,” Isola said. “There was also a discussion on special gases where it was suggested that some teams were changing the gas in the tires to better control the pressure.

Pirelli, for its part, ensures that the tires are filled with dry air, in accordance with FIA regulations which prohibit any modification of this configuration.

“We provide the tires with dry air inside. “We have a dryer connected to our system, and they receive all the tires with dry air, as required by the regulations,” explained Isola.

However, as Isola pointed out, detecting teams in violation requires concrete evidence.

“In the technical directive, it is written that any modification is prohibited, and that is very clear,” he stressed. “But then you have to have clear evidence if you find yourself in a situation like that.”

So far, Pirelli’s analysis has found no data to suggest any team is engaging in the practice, leaving the matter in the hands of the FIA ​​for further monitoring and investigation.

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