Pirelli will offer a new hard tire at Silverstone

The work continues at Pirelli. After tightening the performance of its tire range for 2012 and reworking the profile of its rear tires, the official Formula 1 manufacturer will provide the twelve engaged teams with a new Hard tire during the Friday practice sessions at Silverstone. The modifications concern the rubber compound, featuring a broader optimal operating window which should allow the cars to make better use of it more easily.

However, according to Paul Hembery, director of Pirelli Motorsport, the question of its introduction in the 2012 races is delicate: “There is a need to consider this change, especially given how tight the championship has been this year. We do not want to risk creating an advantage for this or that team,” he said to Autosport magazine. “So, imagine that suddenly, during races 10, 11, and 12, a team starts to pull away; we would be heavily criticized.”

Pirelli’s Grand Prix manager still justifies testing this new tire, despite the disparities in understanding among the teams: « We are going to test it because we want to understand its effect and impact, but that doesn’t mean we’ll bring it to the races. We have to be very careful because there is a big difference among teams in their approach to tires at the moment. We are talking to the technicians, and for the moment, they are trying to find the key that ensures a higher level of performance sustainably. I think teams would be rather upset if, suddenly, it became a bit easier and if those who have worked very hard to get where they are saw another team catching up with them. »

The appointment is set for July 6 for the appearance of these new tires.