Towards the lap record in Monaco with the hyper-soft rubber

Pink will be the norm this weekend in the Principality. The 2018 Pirelli Motorsport collection will be enriched with the latest addition from the Italian manufacturer: the hyper-soft tire.

Seen several times in testing, notably during the winter runs in Barcelona, ​​the transalpine compound will make its racing debut this weekend on the tortuous Monegasque track. A parameter which should make it possible to lower the chronometric references according to Pirelli.

“We tested the hyper-soft in Abu Dhabi and Barcelona: on these two tracks, Abu Dhabi was the best comparison with Monaco and we saw that the tire was faster by around a second per lap compared to the 'ultra-tender, comments Mario Isola, Pirelli car racing manager. So we could see more records fall this weekend. »

Especially since the weather forecasts remain favorable for the moment around the Principality.

The influence of hyper-tenderness on strategy

However, it is from the racing side that Pirelli expects to observe the behavior of its latest creation. On a track where the degradation is one of the lowest of the year, the evolution of the rubber will be closely scrutinized by the teams from Thursday to establish the best strategy on a track where overtaking remains difficult.

“The hyper-soft is definitely a racing tire rather than a qualifying tire, underlines Mario Isola. So it will be interesting to see how he adapts to Monaco's unique demands, and what effect that has on strategy. »

Remember that the lap record for pole position was set by Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) last year in 1’12”178, Sergio Pérez setting a reference lap in the race in 1’14”820 with his Force India, also in 2017.