Formula One tyre supplier, Pirelli, has oficially revealed the tyre compounds which will be available for the first two races of the new season, and the most significant change from last season is the fact that the Ultrasoft tyre will be used during the Australian Grand Prix, which will take place on the Albert Park Lake track, on March 26.
The Formula 1 teams can also choose to run with the Soft and Supersoft tyre for the first race of the year, but Pirelli has mandated that at least one set of either the yellow-banded Soft or red-banded Supersoft be used on Sunday afternoon. One set of the purple-banded Ultrasoft will be used by the top ten drivers who qualify in the last part of the session on Saturday. The Formula One tyre supplier has also announced the compounds they will bring to the second round of the season in China, with the Soft and Supersoft being available once again, alongside the harder compound (in this case, the Medium tyres).
Shanghai International Circuit will host the 2017 Chinese Grand Prix, which will take place on April 9. Pirelli has informed that at least one set of either the Soft or Medium tyres must be used in the race on Sunday, while a set of Supersoft tyres will need to be held back for the top ten drivers who reach the final part of the qualifying session.
The Australian Grand Prix will be the first race in which Pirelli will bring the new type of tyres, which are 25% wider than last season, and as a result will offer a lot more grip and balance for the cars. This will be one of the major changes for the 2017 season, in the hope of improving the show and creating a much more balanced competition, after years of domination from the Mercedes team.
Leave a Reply