NO CONSTRUCTION CHANGES DUE TO LACK OF TEAM SUPPORT
Pirelli has announced the slick P Zero compounds that will be taken to the next three grands prix in Great Britain, Germany and Hungary. The tire construction will remain unchanged, contrary to Pirelli’s initial plans. This decision is due to the fact that the new tires, which were brought to the Friday free practice sessions in Canada, could not be tested sufficiently due to rain – and that the teams failed to agree unanimously about introducing the changes. Instead a change in the tire production process should now ensure that the delamination issue has been addressed.
At the British Grand Prix the P Zero Orange hard and P Zero White medium tires have been nominated: the two hardest tires in Pirelli’s range, which will be best suited to the high-energy demands of the Silverstone track.
In Germany the P Zero White medium and P Zero Yellow soft have been selected. The Nürburgring is a circuit with varied speeds and corners, plus heavy braking areas. The tarmac roughness is very low, so plenty of mechanical grip from the tires is required. Combined with the often very variable weather conditions, this makes the soft and medium compounds the best choice for the iconic German track.
For Hungary Pirelli will bring the P Zero Orange hard and P Zero White medium compounds. Hungary is the slowest permanent track on the calendar but it still places a lot of demands on the tires due to its twisty layout, which means that the tires move around much more than on a fast and flowing track. This combined with often high ambient temperatures make the hard and medium compounds the best choice for this track, given that this year’s compounds are softer than last year’s range across the board.
The rules stipulate that under normal circumstances each team will receive six sets of the harder compound and five sets of the softer compound for the race weekend. Pirelli will also bring its Cinturato Green intermediate tire for damp track conditions (four sets per driver) as well as the Cinturato Blue rain tire (three sets per driver) to each race.
The tire choices so far
| PZero Red | PZero Yellow | PZero White | PZero Orange | |
| Australia | Supersoft | Medium | ||
| Malaysia | Medium | Hard | ||
| China | Soft | Medium | ||
| Bahrain | Medium | Hard | ||
| Spain | Medium | Hard | ||
| Monaco | Supersoft | Soft | ||
| Canada | Supersoft | Medium | ||
| Great Britain | Medium | Hard | ||
| Germany | Soft | Medium | ||
| Hungary | Medium | Hard |
Photo: Jordan Lenssen
