Pirelli goes for white in Barcelona

If the Italian tire supplier started its season at Jerez two weeks ago, it is preparing to set foot on the Catalunya track for the first time with its 2012 tires. In Spain, Pirelli will bring 367 sets of tires, or 73 more than in Andalusia for the recovery. Teams having the possibility of using only 100 trains per car throughout the season, this week they will favor the White, the “medium”, of which 110 trains will be provided. This rubber will be used during the first three rounds of the season, completed by the “soft” in Australia and China, but also the “hard” in Malaysia.

Paul Hembery, Director of Pirelli Motorsport, explains why his mostly used tires were not sent to Jerez. “ Everyone is hoping for warmer, more consistent temperatures in Barcelona this week, which we didn't get in Jerez. Nevertheless, the message at the end of these first tests was very positive, and the drivers were generally happy with the warm-up time, performance and durability of our new tires, made specifically for the 2012 regulations. Barcelona is a very different from Jerez and places more stress on the left-front tires in particular, due to the high speeds and many right-diving curves. The attention of the teams will once again be focused on the development and evaluation of the interaction between their 2012 single-seaters and the chassis. He concluded.

Find in issue 1845 of AUTOhebdo, exceptionally on newsstands Thursday, our Guide F1. Circuits, entries, interviews… everything you need to know about the 2012 season.