Formula 1’s tyre supplier Pirelli has announced which rubber compounds will be available to teams and drivers for the first three outings of 2018.
The company is expanding its range of compounds next season. Instead of five different tyres – ranging from hard to ultrasoft – there will now be seven alternatives next season.
Pirelli has added a new superhard tyre at the top end, and a hypersoft option at the other. However, neither compound will be making its début appearance in the first three races of the new season.
At Australia, teams will be able to choose sets of soft, supersoft and ultrasoft tyres. That’s the same line-up that Pirelli made available for the 2017 season opener.
The Bahrain Grand Prix moves forward in the calendar next year and becomes the second race of 2018. The options will be the white-marked medium tyre along with the soft and supersoft compounds. Pirelli chose the same line-up for this year’s race.
For the third outing of the year in China, Pirelli will be serving up the medium, soft and ultrasoft tyres. It means that they will ‘jump over’ the supersoft compound in Shanghai.
- Pirelli’s new hypersoft tyre gets favourable reviews
Last year the tyres available for the race were mediums, softs and supersofts.
Drivers automatically get one set of each available compound. A set of the softest compound must be held in reserve for use in Q3. Drivers are then free to choose the rest of their 13-set allocation for the race weekend as they wish.
However their selection must allow them to use at least two different compounds during the race – unless it rains.
Click Here: Rugby league Jerseys
In total, only the yellow-walled soft compound tyre is being made available at all three races at the start of 2018. The medium, red-marked supersofts and purple ultrasoft tyre all get two outings each.
The tyres yet to get an opportunity to show what they can do are the superhard, hard and hypersoft tyres.
Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter