Pirelli reveals its tire selections for the first three Grand Prix races
The first Grand Prix of the 2023 season starts in fifteen days and tire supplier Pirelli has already announced which tires will be used by the teams.
This year, the number of Pirelli compounds goes from 5 to 6. If last year the tires ranged from C1 to C5, in 2023 the manufacturer has added the CO.
However, the new tire is the C1 since the C0 is actually the C1 for 2022. The C1 2023 is therefore a middle ground to bridge the gap between the two hardest compounds of last season.
For the first Grand Prix which will take place in Bahrain from March 3rd to 5th, Pirelli has chosen to use the C1 to C3 tire compounds. The new C1 will be white (hard), C2 will be yellow (medium), and C3 will be red (soft). The previous C1 [now C0] will not be part of the selection, which is not really surprising since it was already rarely used as it lost too much ground compared to the C2 during races.
For the second and third rounds of the championship, which will take place in Saudi Arabia and Australia, the Italian manufacturer will opt for the C2 to C4 tires. A choice of slightly softer compounds to adapt to circuits that are less abrasive than the one in Sakhir.
