Tyres for the Australian Grand Prix
The Australian Grand Prix opens today, at Albert Park in Melbourne, the first of three rounds of the 2012 F1 season. Official tyre suppliers Pirelli have confirmed the compound allocations of their dry-weather P Zero tyres, and teams have been provided with five sets of medium and soft tyres.
Six sets of the harder compound will be provided for the race in Malaysia next week, and then it’s back to medium and soft for the Chinese round in April. For damp conditions, drivers will be using Pirelli’s Cinturato Green intermediate tyres to stay fast and safe on the track, as well as having the option of the Cinturato Blue rain tyre for wet conditions.
Last week the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) met in Milan to agree on alterations in tyre usage and regulations. Drivers will now be allowed to carry over one set of dry-weather tyres to Saturday if both Friday sessions have been declared wet.
There is also a change in the use of DRS (adjustable rear wing), with the race director allowed to prohibit its use if visibility is low in wet conditions. This is hoped to reduce the risk of accidents due to large speed differentials between cars.
You can keep up with all the news on the Australian Grand Prix as it happens by visiting the F1 site here.