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WHY WE’VE CHOSEN THE TYRES
For the first time since Pirelli re-entered Formula 1 in 2011, we start the
season with exactly the same tyres as the previous year. And just like 2019,
C2 has been chosen as the P Zero White hard tyre in Melbourne, C3 as the P
Zero Yellow medium, and C4 as the P Zero Red soft.
This selection worked very well
last year, which is why we've chosen them again. The middle of the P Zero
range is well-suited to the wide-ranging demands of Melbourne, and all three
compounds were used in the race.
The Albert Park circuit is a
semi-permanent facility, which means that it’s often very dirty at the start
of the weekend. This selection of tyres copes well with the rapid track
evolution, giving drivers plenty of options when it comes to strategy. |
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TRACK CHARACTERISTICS
* Albert Park is mainly about traction and braking, with short corners and
straights apart from the long and more demanding Turn 8 by the lake.
* The track is quite bumpy, which emphasizes the lack of grip.
* Weather can be varied and the unforgiving confines mean that a safety car
is reasonably likely. The correlation between pole position and victory is
quite low. |
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MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF CAR
RACING
“Tyre-wise, the drivers should be well-prepared for Melbourne, as they have
exactly the same selection as last year, so there should be plenty of
relevant data. Perhaps the only question mark concerns how these tyres
perform on the 2020 cars, which have already proved to be a lot faster than
their predecessors, but plenty of information about this was gathered at
pre-season testing in Barcelona last month. In the recent past, Australia
has been a one-stop race for most drivers, and for now there’s no reason to
think why it should be different this year, which marks the start to the end
of an era: the final season of 13-inch tyres in Formula 1.”
OTHER PIRELLI NEWS
* Pirelli’s 18-inch tyres for Formula 2 cars took to the track in Bahrain,
which will already race on this size of tyre in 2020. Hitech driver Luca
Ghiotto emerged on top from the three-day test, with F2 scheduled to host
its first round in Bahrain at the end of this month as part of the country’s
grand prix.
* Formula 3, which will continue to race on 13-inch Pirelli tyres, also
tested in Bahrain. Among the new intake of drivers for this year is
19-year-old German Sophia Floersch: the first female to race in the
championship. Her team mate Alexander Peroni was fastest in the test.
* Pirelli’s Junior WRC campaign got underway last month on Rally Sweden,
with local man Tom Kristensson winning the event and topping the standings.
Next year, Pirelli embarks on a three-year agreement as exclusive tyre
partner to the World Rally Championship alongside its Formula 1 commitments. |
