Pirelli Tyres in Formula One
The performance of Pirelli tyres in the Formula One races has been pivotal in keeping the competition tight and the the racing exciting. And we all want an exciting, edge of the seat type race – no spectator wants to know who’s going to win before the race even starts!
The teams are having to think hard to plan for each race as each track is different, and it is very difficult to judge how the different tyre compounds will respond to the different conditions until you’ve actually driven around the track on them. Of course, this being Pirelli’s first year as solo tyre supplier, none of the teams have had that experience ahead of time.
Bahrain, in particular, is an extremely demanding circuit with regards to tyre degradation as the track is often dirty and features several low to medium speed corners that require a lot of traction from the rear tyres. Therefore the teams that performed better, did so because they managed their tyres better, and contained the thermal degradation to reasonable levels.