Pirelli selects its tires for Australia, Malaysia, and China

As Pirelli begins its second season as the sole supplier, with new tires that drivers and teams were able to discover during the first private tests of the season in Jerez, the Italian manufacturer has made its tire choices for the first three races of the season.

Thus, the soft and medium tires will be the norm in Australia and China, while in Malaysia, due to the characteristics of the Sepang circuit and the generally high temperatures, the Milan-based firm has decided to supply medium and hard tires, the ideal opportunity to test the effectiveness of its new colors since these tires will have white and silver sidewalls.

For reference, the regulations stipulate that each driver will receive, each weekend, 6 sets of the hardest compound tires and 5 sets of the softest compound tires, and in case of a wet track, 4 sets of intermediate tires (Cinturato Green) and 3 sets of rain tires (Cinturato Blue). The Italian manufacturer will thus supply nearly 1,800 tires to each Grand Prix this season, for a total of approximately 36,000 tires for the year 2012.

In 2011, the Italian manufacturer favored, on seven occasions each, the soft/medium combination and the medium/hard combination, reserving its super soft tires, which are the only ones not to change this season, for the Grand Prix in Monaco, Canada, Hungary, Singapore, and South Korea.