Pirelli boss Mario Isola says that there are still some uncertainties about the 2019 tyres but, overall, they are happy that they’ve met their own criteria for performance and longevity.
Heading to Melbourne for the season opener, the Australian Grand Prix is the first race that will see the new tyre identification markers set in place. Gone are the days of ‘Hypersoft’ and ‘UltraSoft’ etc. – instead, Pirelli will bring white marked Hard tyres, yellow marked Mediums and red marked Softs. These compounds will be taken from the C1 to C5 range, with the Australian compounds chosen as C2, C3 & C4.
“Our C2, C3, and C4 hard, medium and soft nominations this year are roughly equivalent to the 2018 medium, soft and ultrasoft compounds.” explained Mario Isola
“This should allow drivers to push hard from the start to the finish of each stint.”
“After a very productive test in Barcelona, we feel satisfied that the 2019 tyre range is on course to meet our objectives of combining performance with durability.”
He elaborated to say that while pre-season testing proved useful, a full picture will only emerge when the tyres are driven in anger in the more representative temperatures of a Grand Prix weekend: “Of course, there are still a number of aspects – such as degradation over the length of a stint – that will only be revealed after free practice in Australia. One other important consideration in Australia will be seeing how the new aero rules work, and if this leads to more overtaking – which is difficult to establish during testing.”
