Formula 1: Pirelli to use colour codes for tyre compounds in 2011
Tyre manufacturer Pirelli replaced Bridgestone as the lone tyre suppliers in Formula 1 for the 2011 season and it seems that the drivers and teams are satisfied with their product so far.
However, after a successful test session in Abu Dhabi, they revealed that they are planning to use colour codes for its various types of tyre compounds in the 2011 Formula 1 season in order to help the spectators understand the team’s strategy more clearly.
Bridgestone introduced a similar concept in 2007 when they painted a white stripe on one of the grooves of the soft tyres to differentiate them from the hard compound ones. Since slicks returned to Formula 1 in 2009, Bridgestone decided to paint a green
circle on the sidewall of the tyres but it was not easy to spot them on TV.
According to some rumours, Pirelli will try to use different colours on the tyre wall for each compound which would clearly indicate which compound a team is using on TV as well. It is reported that the super-soft compound will be red, the soft tyres will
be white, the mediums will be blue and hard tyres are going to be yellow. Other than that, the sidewall lettering on the full wet tyres is going to be yellow and the intermediate ones will be red.
It was also revealed that in order to keep it fair, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) will distribute Pirelli’s tyres to the teams after shuffling the code numbers randomly at each grand prix. This would make racing fairer and unbiased.
Nevertheless, Pedro de la Rosa is done with the Pirelli’s own testing and it seems that the tyre suppliers and Pedro are satisfied with the product very much. De la Rosa believes that Pirelli will make racing even more competitive and entertaining.
He claims that the tyres are going to make overtaking a bit easier and most of the teams will opt for a 2-3 pit stop strategy which would make Formula 1 more exhilarating.
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