Formula One official tyre supplier Pirelli has revealed that it is set to introduce a tyre softer than the ultrasoft for the following F1 championship, after a season during which the Italian manufacturer has received numerous complaints regarding the fact that even the softest compound for this year was too hard and thus the strategy was many times restricted to only one pit-stop per race.
As a result, over the course of the year Pirelli has been testing a number of compounds which it would like to introduce for the 2018 Formula One season, with some claiming that as many as seven different compounds could be made available to drivers. Following yesterday’s Brazilian Grand Prix, the Italian company took to social media to ask fans to vote for a name for what will be the softest tyre in the 2018 range, the tyre sporting the same pink banding used in Austin last month:
“Megasoft, Hypersoft or Extremesoft,” asked the manufacturer as it called on fans to vote for their favourite. The tyres will no doubt be used over the forthcoming two-day test at Interlagos which will see Stoffel Vandoorne and Lando Norris in action. The exact number of compounds – there are currently five in the range – will be announced in due course, but of greater interest is talk of the drivers being given more choice in terms of what compounds that wish to take to each race. Currently Pirelli suggests the three compounds available, nominating the two mandatory compounds for qualifying and the race. It is felt that allowing drivers to choose their own compounds from the entire range – even if several months in advance – would help spice up the racing.
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