Pirelli Confirms Tire Compounds for First 4 Races in 2011

After weeks of speculation, Italian tire manufacturer Pirelli has finally announced the compounds it will bring to the opening 4 rounds of the 2011 Formula 1 championship. As expected, the first option for all teams will be the hard compound tire – believed to be the most durable of all based on the feedback from drivers after the first 2 group tests of the winter – which will be joined by the soft one.

The hard & soft choice reflects the tire maker's continuance of the one step gap in tire compound suggested by the FIA a while back and will be available for teams in the races of Bahrain, Australia, Malaysia and China. After the round at Shanghai, the F1 field will head back to Europe.

“This decision has been made in accordance with the track characteristics in the Middle and Far East, which offer high grip and a wide variety of speeds and corners, as well as ambient and track temperatures that are likely to be high,” said the Italian company in a press statement.

“The valuable data that we've collected from both official and private testing has shown us that our nomination of hard and soft tyres is the best way forward for both the drivers and the spectators, so we look forward now to a successful Grand Prix debut and a great show in the Middle and Far East over the next four races,” added the head of Pirelli's motorsport operations, Paul Hembery.

“We've enjoyed great collaboration with the teams so far, and with the nominated compounds for the next four races now known, I am sure that this will help to focus their development for the start of the season.”

In addition, Pirelli has confirmed that it will bring newly-developed soft and super-soft compounds to the next group test of the winter, due to kick off in Barcelona later this week, following the negative feedback received from the drivers after Jerez.