The drivers will be given an additional set of ‘prime’ tyres to use during Friday free practice at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix. A recent amendment to the regulations authorizes tyre supplier Pirelli to hand over 12 sets of tyres - instead of the standard 11 - at selected events.
With warmer temperatures expected in Melbourne than the teams have experienced throughout winter testing, the Italian tyre manufacturer believe an additional set of the hard compound tyres will allow the drivers to complete more practice laps.
And after a year of preparation, Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery is keen to get started.
“This is the moment that we’ve been building up to for more than a year now and it’s very exciting for all of us,” he said. “Our tyres this year are designed to be different to what we have seen before in Formula One, but I think all the teams have managed to gather some useful information about them in testing.
"We’re aiming for between two and three pit stops in Australia, which in some ways is against our company DNA as our road car tyres are designed to be as durable as possible. But Formula One is a very different case, because our remit from the teams and promoter was to provide entertainment.
"With that in mind, we’re just keen to get going now and it will be fascinating to see exactly how the drivers and teams are going to use our tyres to employ different strategies during the race. We’ve noticed a few differences between the teams already in testing, and it’s going to be very interesting to find out exactly how that translates into a race situation.”
The drivers will receive the extra rubber at the start of Friday free practice, with the usual regulations applying from then on.
Credit: Formula One Administration Ltd (www.formula1.com)
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