Ever since it won the tender to become sole F1 supplier for the upcoming 3 years, the Italian tire maker has vowed to improve the F1 show by developing more aggressive tires for 2011.
Additionally, the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) has held all the necessary discussions with Pirelli to design such tires, with the Autosprint report suggesting that the new hard compound will last for approximately 30 laps. Considering that the top 10 drivers on the grid will start off with the tires used in Q3, that would easily ensure at least 2 pit stops per driver every other weekend.
Meanwhile, Pirelli is on its way to finalizing the development of its 2011 compounds by doing a 2-day wet session, at night, on the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. Spanish driver Pedro de la Rosa has already done some mileage in the 2009-spec Toyota (Pirelli test car) last night and is scheduled to complete the Abu Dhabi programme later today.
The weather and track conditions in Abu Dhabi this week have been carefully evaluated by Pirelli in order for them to complete the development of their wet and intermediate tires. This is the manufacturer's last session before the first group test of the winter, to kick off on February 1st, yet Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery admitted further changes may occur in terms of tire development following the 4 group tests in February and March.
“These tests will provide us with useful information to finalize our tire development process for Formula One,” said Hembery.
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