Official tyre supplier Pirelli admits that the Hypersoft tyre will get its real debut at the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend, as the demands of the tyre will be far greater than the streets of Monaco. The Italian manufacturer extended their range of compounds for the 2018 season bringing the Hypersoft tyre into their range, which is two steps softer than the Ultrasoft tyre was in 2017 after Pirelli made every compound one-step softer.
While the durability of the Hypersoft is unknown ahead of the race weekend, Pirelli believes it will open up the strategic options for the teams going into the race. During the Monaco Grand Prix, Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly was able to stretch the pink-marked compound as far as 37 laps, a feat which will almost certainly not be possible around the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit despite its smooth layout: “While Monaco was the first appearance for the new hypersoft, we can almost consider Montreal to be the real debut for this tyre, as Monaco is completely atypical.” – said Mario Isola, Pirelli’s sporting director.
“The track surface at Montreal is actually quite smooth, but we should still see more than one pit stop due to the combination of the softest tyre nomination that we have ever brought to Canada, and a more demanding track layout than Monaco. In the past, there has been an extremely wide variety of strategies seen at this race, and the arrival of the hypersoft should now open up those possibilities still further. In reality, nobody knows exactly how it will perform in Canada in terms of wear and degradation, so the homework done during free practice will be more important than ever.” – he added.
Pirelli will also bring along the other softest compounds in their range at the Canadian Grand Prix with the red-marked Supersoft and purple-marked Ultrasoft.
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