More On Pirelli’s Formula One Tyres
You may wonder what the big deal is about Pirelli’s Formula One tyres – surely it is easy for the teams and their drivers to learn how the tyres behave? Well, no. It really is much more complicated than that. Not only will the tyres behave differently in different conditions – hot, dry, wet, cold – but as similar as Formula One cars may appear to the spectator, they will all use tyres in different ways, so they will behave differently for each car.
The range of tyres on offer do have certain generalities that help to give the teams a guide on what to use and when, but it is worth remembering that each team will have a different strategy, differently built cars, and a different driving style, all of which will affect the choice of tyre.
- Supersoft tyre – This is the easiest to warm up as it operates at around 95 degrees Celsius.
- Soft tyre – This works best at around 105 degrees.
- Medium tyre – This tyre offers improved consistency and high levels of grip. Best operating temperature is 115 degrees.
- Hard tyre – This offers less grip but lots of performance stability, and works best at 125 degrees.