Pirelli plans to add a sixth tyre compound next year in order to expand the range it can offer at each race weekend.
Formula One’s official tyre supplier also intends to produce softer compounds for the 2018 F1 season.
“We have defined the construction and we released the data to the teams on September 1st,” said Pirelli’s head of car racing Mario Isola. “We have a new construction front and rear, we will give some additional information soon.”
“Obviously we are now working on compounds because the target is to go one step softer compared to this year. We know that this year we have been quite conservative but it was not easy to develop the new sizes with the new cars so we decided to be on the conservative side. The current soft will be the new medium next year.”
Pirelli has only brought the hardest of its compounds, the hard tyre, to a single race this year. It has not been seen since the Spanish Grand Prix and no driver used the hard tyre during that race.
At present Pirelli nominates three compounds of dry-weather tyre per race weekend from its five available types. The total number of compounds it can offer is not defined by the sporting regulations.
The number of available compounds increased from four to five last season and Pirelli is now planning a further rise.
“We intend also to increase the number of compounds,” said Isola. “It is still not defined but but we will have probably next year more compounds to give us more freedom in the selection for one event.”
“There is no modification on the sporting regulations so it’s still three compounds per event, the target is to have more flexibility.”
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Bleu (@bleu)
29th September 2017, 11:39
Considering how hard has been ignored this year, it doesn’t make any sense to add sixth compound. Current medium as new hard, subsequent moves along other compounds with new ultrasoft. Current hard dumped for good.
Strontium (@strontium)
29th September 2017, 11:50
That’s what I had presumed they’d be doing. And if they really wanted 6, then two new soft compounds (and no hard) would surely be better
Pero (@peronakov)
29th September 2017, 11:41
Yes, more compounds are exactly what is needed…How about naming it Infra Soft?
On another note, was Hard compound used at all this season?
Strontium (@strontium)
29th September 2017, 11:51
The answer is in the article
ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby)
29th September 2017, 11:42
I still wish to see a team (or driver) pick one compound of tyre before the race weekend, and just solely use that over all sessions. If someone wants to use the medium/hard and not stop, go for it. If you want to use the softest tyre and stop once or twice, go for it.
I think it’d be so, so much more simple for a new fan, or even a current die-hard fan such as myself, who has never wished to properly understand the ridiculously confusing tyre rules.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
29th September 2017, 19:53
@ecwdanselby Firstly, it’s not really that confusing, and secondly, I’m certain all the teams would basically use the softest tyres all weekend, which would take strategy out of it quite a bit.
ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby)
2nd October 2017, 9:54
I fail to see how anyone could argue that the tyre system is ‘not really that confusing’. Can you imagine trying to explain the entire system, from Friday through to Sunday, to a new fan?
@HoHum (@hohum)
30th September 2017, 8:18
I like the MotoGP system Hard/medium/soft compounds for front and rear, mix and match them how you like, but be careful not to destroy the softs before the race ends or alternately don’t lose too much time early in the race getting the hards up to temperature.
Sven Örup
29th September 2017, 11:50
Make it simple. Let Pirelli take the 3 compounds they think are appropriate for any given track. Then let the teams use them as they please.
Strontium (@strontium)
29th September 2017, 14:00
I concur, and ideally none of this ‘top 10 start the race on Q2 tyre’ rubbish
@HoHum (@hohum)
30th September 2017, 8:19
+1
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
29th September 2017, 12:03
There really doesn’t need to be that many compounds, Especially if like this year they find that one (or more) of them don’t work & are therefore hardly used.
Should be cut to 3 (Soft, Medium & Hard) with all 3 compounds taken to every race & teams/drivers allowed to run them however they want.
Man United_Vettel (@siegfreyco)
29th September 2017, 12:24
It won’t work because it would be too hard for Monaco while being too soft for tracks like Suzuka and Barcelona
@HoHum (@hohum)
30th September 2017, 8:24
Doesn’t matter, it’s the same grip for all of them.
FJBH10 (@fjbh10)
29th September 2017, 12:13
Hypersoft?
Chris
29th September 2017, 12:21
Very soft? Lol
Mega soft?
Insanely soft?
Really soft?
Or something between medium and soft?
Somewhat soft?
Fairly soft?
Kinda soft?
Bob C.
29th September 2017, 13:58
Soft-ish?
Dom (@3dom)
29th September 2017, 22:27
:-D
Sundar Srinivas Harish
29th September 2017, 16:38
Sort-of-medium?
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
29th September 2017, 18:16
I don’t care if Pirelli makes two dozen different compounds for the year. Just don’t make it unnescesarily confusing.
Simply call what ever is the softer tire on any given race weekend the ‘soft’ and paint it ‘red’, call the the middle one ‘ Medium’ and paint it yellow and call the hardest one ‘ Hard and paint it ‘white’.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
29th September 2017, 19:41
@jeffreyj I’m not in favour of dumbing things down like this.
Besides which I think you could improve things in a more constructive way cimply by tidying up the nomenclature. At present the ‘soft’ is the middle compound when that should surely be the medium. So instead of hard/medium/soft/super-soft/ultra-soft something like super-hard/hard/medium/soft/super-soft would surely be more logical.
Twitteratti
30th September 2017, 0:47
What we need is Andrex to start making tyres.
I’m serious.
Three compounds in a weekend still, one grippy, one in the middle and one that’s slow but lasts forever. We can name the compounds Soft, Strong and Very, Very long.
@HoHum (@hohum)
30th September 2017, 8:28
Supersoft- ultrasoft- gooey- supergooey- ultragooey.
F1Codger
29th September 2017, 21:12
New Tyre designations:
Big-girls-blouse
Pushover
Snowflake
Squelch
Sponge
Jelly
etc
glynh (@glynh)
29th September 2017, 12:37
The problem is if they make tyres softer people will complain that drivers can’t push so the year after they’re going to go back to harder tyres.l and so on.
It’s much like phones advertising being 10% bigger then 10% smaller the next year…
Steven Robertson (@emu55)
29th September 2017, 13:04
Regarding Pirelli adding another tyre choice, it wouldn’t matter if it was 6 or 20 compounds, Pirelli and the FIA should be planning tyre compounds based on what outcomes they would like in a typical F1 race, then working back from there. For example, in an ideal world, I’d like teams to have the option of 3,2 or 1 stops in a race, with 3 stops being marginally faster but with the negative of losing track position. By defining the contribution tyres give to a race, Pirelli can build tyres matching a predetermined brief.
GeeMac (@geemac)
29th September 2017, 13:56
Pirelli F1 tyre range 2018:
So-Hard-you-could-literally-do-two-race-distances-on-it
Medium
Soft
Super-Soft
Ultra-Soft
So-soft-it’ll-delaminate-the-second-you-touch-the-throttle
Ninjenius (@ninjenius)
29th September 2017, 14:45
@geemac
….
Super-Soft
Ultra-Soft
There’s-No-Amount-Of-Viagra-That’ll-Fix-This-Soft
*walks away after the most predictable of jokes…*
thepostalserviceisbroke (@thepostalserviceisbroke)
29th September 2017, 14:49
Let’s have a unique compound for each circuit!
John Beak (@johnbeak)
29th September 2017, 15:24
Ultra Medium confirmed.
Driomed
29th September 2017, 22:08
Whatever they call them, just re-write the rules so that every team has to use one of each compound during a race and quali weekend. So When you choose a tyre for a quali session (eg q1), you have to stick with that tyre for the whole of that part of quali.
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
29th September 2017, 23:14
Surely that should open up some sponsorship opportunities for Pirelli: have they considered naming the new tyre micro-soft?
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
30th September 2017, 6:03
They better just call it super hard
campbell martin
30th September 2017, 9:24
why dont you just number all the tyre compounds eg. 1 for x treme soft, 2 for ultra soft and so on
btw what colour will this new tyre be?