Pirelli chooses its tires for Abu Dhabi, the United States, and Brazil
For the last three Grand Prix of the season, Pirelli has decided to forego the Super Soft tires. Thus, in Abu Dhabi, drivers will have Soft and Medium tires available, while Pirelli will offer them its hardest tires in the United States and Brazil.
After being used at the Korean Grand Prix, the Super Soft tires with red sidewalls will not be used again for the remainder of the 2012 season. Pirelli has indeed revealed its tire choices for the final three Grand Prix of the season, where Mediums will be mandatory each time, paired with Soft or Hard compounds.
Thus, for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the teams will have Medium and Soft tires on one of the circuits that the Italian manufacturer undoubtedly masters the best: « The Abu Dhabi race takes place in the early evening with dropping temperatures. Although the lap offers a wide range of speeds and turns, the surface is quite smooth and tire degradation is not excessive, making Medium and Soft the perfect choice, » can be read in the Pirelli statement.
In the United States, at the brand new Circuit of the Americas, the Milanese manufacturer will be venturing into unknown territory: « Simulation data established by Pirelli engineers during the summer indicates that Hard and Medium tires will be the most suitable for the various demands of the track. During a recent visit, our engineers observed that significant loads will be imposed on the tires while high temperatures are also expected. Thus, a relatively conservative choice will allow us to prepare for all eventualities. »
Finally, the drivers will once again have Hard and Medium tires for the Brazilian Grand Prix: « Interlagos is a circuit well known for being very demanding on tires with significant elevation changes, high-speed corners, and significant energy loads on the tire structure. For these reasons, Hard and Medium compounds will also be the best choice for the final round of the 2012 championship. »
Thus, over the course of the season, the Soft tires will have been preferred 16 times compared to 12 for the Medium tires. The Hard compounds will have been used 9 times against only 4 for the Super Soft which were almost exclusively reserved for urban or semi-urban circuits.
The Soft and Medium tires have thus been paired 7 times, while the Medium/Hard duo has been used 5 times and the Super Soft/Soft combination 4 times. Notably, in Spain, Great Britain, Japan, and India, Pirelli decided to pair the soft tire with the hard tire to offer a greater variety of strategic options to the teams.
Pirelli’s tire choices during the 2012 season:
| 1 | Australia | Soft | Medium | ||
| 2 | Malaysia | Medium | Hard | ||
| 3 | China | Soft | Medium | ||
| 4 | Bahrain | Soft | Medium | ||
| 5 | Spain | Soft | Hard | ||
| 6 | Monaco | S. Soft | Soft | ||
| 7 | Canada | S. Soft | Soft | ||
| 8 | Europe | Soft | Medium | ||
| 9 | Great Britain | Soft | Hard | ||
| 10 | Germany | Soft | Medium | ||
| 11 | Hungary | Soft | Medium | ||
| 12 | Belgium | Medium | Hard | ||
| 13 | Italy | Medium | Hard | ||
| 14 | Singapore | S. Soft | Soft | ||
| 15 | Japan | Soft | Hard | ||
| 16 | South Korea | S. Soft | Soft | ||
| 17 | India | Soft | Hard | ||
| 10 | Abu Dhabi | Soft | Medium | ||
| 19 | United States | Medium | Hard | ||
| 19 | Brazil | Medium | Hard |
