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View Full Version : Pirelli reveals Formula 1 tyre-identifying markings



tinkertiler
22-03-2011, 12:32 AM
Pirelli has revealed the colours it will use to differentiate between the tyres it supplies at each grand prix.

The Italian company, which takes over from Bridgestone as Formula 1's sole supplier in 2011, has decided to paint its logo in different colours.

For the dry-weather tyres, the logo will be silver on the hard tyre, white on the medium, yellow on the soft and red on the super-soft.

On the full wet tyre it will be orange and on the intermediate light blue.

Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery said: "These will enable both live and television audiences to tell at a glance who is on what compounds, which will be vital knowledge as tyres are set to form a key part of race strategy this year."

The tyres have been deliberately designed to be less durable than in the past, to force the teams to do more pit stops and create more unpredictable racing.

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Teams are predicting three-stop races will be the norm in 2011, when one stop was standard practice in 2010.

The F1 rules dictate that there must be a two-compound gap between the two available types of dry-weather tyres at each race, so there is no chance of the silver and white being confused as the hard and medium tyres will never be used at the same race.

Each driver has to use both types of dry-weather tyre in the course of a dry race. In a wet race they have a free choice.

Pirelli describes the tyres as follows: "The wet tyre is used in case of heavy rain, while the intermediate is for a damp or drying track.

"The super-soft provides plenty of speed at the expense of durability, while the soft tyre lasts a bit longer but is still more biased towards performance.

"The medium tyre is a balanced compromise, while the hard tyre is the most durable of all."

The two tyres being taken to the first three races in Australia, Malaysia and China will be the hard and soft compounds, with the hard designated "prime" and the soft the "option".