Pirelli announce compounds for first eight GPs
Formula One’s sole tyre supplier Pirelli has revealed the tyre compounds that will be used in the opening eight grands prix of the curtailed and disrupted 2020 F1 season.
The deleyed 2020 F1 championship will get underway at Spielberg on July 5 which will be then followed by seven further European rounds. Pirelli usually reaveals the available compounds for a certain event a few weeks beforehand and confirms the driver’s individual tyre choices two weeks ahead of a race.
As the coronavirus pandemic has forced Formula to come up with a heavily-revised calendar that will present a condensed and tight schedule, Pirelli has made the decision to define the three compounds that will be availabe at the first eight rounds of the championship.
At the opening Austrian Grand Prix, Pirelli will supply teams with its C2, C3 and C4 compounds with the very same selection chosen for the Grand Prix of Steiermark. Drivers will be allocated with the same trio of compounds at the third round of the season, at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
For the Silverstone double-header, Pirelli has made an exciting choice. At the first edition of the two-week Silverstone event, the British Grand Prix, the Italian company will make its three hardest compounds, C1, C2 and C3 available for the teams. A week later, Formula 1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix will see the trio of C2, C3 and C4 be in action which will present a range that is a step softer than the one used seven days earlier at the same venue.
In order to cope with the possible high temperatures and the long, demanding corners of the Barcelona-Catalunya track, Pirelli will allocate teams with the three hardest compounds of its 2020 range.
For the last two venues of the first eight races, the Belgian and the Italian Grands Prix, drivers will have access to the trio of C2, C3 and C4.
Pirelli’s Head of F1 and Car Racing Mario Isola has revealed that the Italian tyre manufacturer has decided to announce for the opening race all together because of the tight and congested nature of the first phase of the revised 2020 F1 calendar.
“With so many variables at the start of this delayed season, and a flexible calendar that doesn't leave much time to react to changing circumstances, it was agreed with the teams, the promoter and the FIA to announce the compound nominations for the first eight races this year all together.
“As usual, these compounds have been chosen to best match the characteristics of the individual circuit and provide interesting opportunities for race strategy.”
