Pirelli’s Paul Hembery: Teams must opt for 2-4 pit strategy per race in 2011 Formula 1 season
The new lone tyre suppliers of the 2011 Formula 1 season Pirelli have recently predicted a 2-4 pit strategy which is going to depend on the team, driver and circuit.
Most of the teams stated that the new Pirelli tyres wear out much quicker than they were expected to as a result of which the amount of pits per race is going to increase drastically.
According to Pirelli, this was exactly what the FIA wanted as the 2010 Formula 1 season barely had a pit strategy-dependant race which took away the strategic and technical element from the sport.
Some of the teams even opted for a single pit strategy at some of the venues in 2010 which took away the drama and exhilaration of a pit stop making races predictable and very straightforward.
Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery recently stated that the new Pirellis have not been tested for just one day in higher temperatures which provided the lone tyre suppliers with some vital data which revealed that the race strategies would be fairly
open for the teams.
“It's given us the right signals that when we do get the temperature we'll get closer to the data from our test results, which for us is fundamental. We've seen some interesting race simulations, but the teams are obviously playing tactics because we've
seen some comments that aren't matching some of the tactics and vice-a-versa,” he told reporters in the Barcelona paddock.
He added that the main goal for Pirelli is to create a hard compound that lasts for 25 laps in good conditions while the softer compounds are going to last from 15-20 laps depending on how the driver uses them.
However, it is expected that Pirelli will run the hard and soft compounds rather than the medium and super-soft tyres at the first three races but Hembery is hopeful that after the season opening race at Australia, the results are going to be surprising.
“Melbourne is an interesting circuit from a tyre maintenance point of view - it's not an easy circuit that's for sure. We risk having quite high temperatures through to cold and rain, it's a bit like being back in England. So yes, that is going to be a new
challenge,” stated Paul.
He added that Pirelli would have been much happier if the Bahrain Grand Prix took place as the season opening race for the 2011 Formula 1 season but there was no other choice for the FIA except to postpone the race.
As a result, the Australian Grand Prix is going to take place on March 27 as the season opening race of the 2011 Formula 1 season.
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