Tires chosen for Bahrain and Russia revealed
Pirelli has revealed the three tire compounds that will be used for the third and fourth meetings of the 2017 season in Bahrain and Russia.
The sole manufacturer of Formula 1 had already unveiled the compounds brought for the first two Grand Prix of the 2017 season, and now the Italians have announced the tires for the next two races. For the Bahrain Grand Prix, the tires will be the medium (white stripes), soft (yellow stripes), and supersoft (red stripes). In Sochi, the tires will be one step softer in the range, namely soft, supersoft, and the ultra-soft purples.
The tire regulations for next season will be the same as in /f1/actualite/21649-Pirelli-annonce-ses-choix-de-pneus-pour-laustralie-et-la-chine-.html, meaning each team will have a set of supersofts reserved for Q3 and must use at least one set of softs or mediums during the race in Bahrain. Drivers qualifying in Q3 must still use the set of tires that allowed them to achieve their best time in Q2 to start the race. For Russia, it’s the ultrasoft tire that will be reserved by Pirelli for Q3, and drivers must use at least one set of supersofts or softs during the race.
Let’s recall that for the first five Grand Prix of the 2017 season, the tire choice will be made by Pirelli to prevent teams from having to make a tire choice without being able to test them. Pirelli will therefore provide two sets of the hardest compound, four sets of the medium compound, and seven sets of the softest compound to all teams from Australia to Spain. Starting from the Monaco Grand Prix, teams will be able to freely choose their tires again, while respecting the rules concerning Q3 and the mandatory race tires.
Pirelli tires will be significantly different for 2017, with the width of the rear tires increasing by about 25% from 325 to 405 millimeters. The width of the front tires will also increase, from 245 to 305 millimeters. Additionally, next season’s tires will be more durable, which should allow drivers to push harder for longer. It is estimated that the new tires, along with increased downforce levels, will produce cars that are between three to five seconds per lap faster than their counterparts.
However, let’s clarify that this time gain will be evolutionary over the course of the season. The 5-second gap that was announced following the change in the design of the cars and tires in 2017 will not be achieved from the inaugural race at the Australian Grand Prix.
