Pirelli’s Paul Hembery reveals that they will be more aggressive in 2012 – Formula 1 news
Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery has revealed that Pirelli will be more aggressive in 2012.
Pirelli took over from Bridgestone for the 2011 season and had an instant effect on the sport. Some drivers took to the Pirelli style of compound others found it difficult to control. Even though the season was dominated by Sebastian Vettel, it was still
an exciting season because the Pirelli tyres allowed a lot more aggressive driving.
The compounds’ rapid degradation allowed for more strategies and tactics. It also made overtaking more common which was a positive sign for competitiveness in the sport.
Hembery said that Pirelli made it easier for teams by using the same compound throughout the season, but says that it will not be the case for the 2012 season as they plan to mix compounds.
“Well we made it a little bit easier for the teams by using a particular soft compound all through the season, so they always had a central product which allowed them to optimise either the chassis set-up or the driving style,” Hembery said. “Another year
we won't do that. We'll be mixing the compounds a lot more, the compounds will be more aggressive, performances will be more aggressive.”
Pirelli has done very well overall the only blemish during the 2011 season was when Vettel’s tyre burst at the beginning of the first lap and caused him to retire. Both Pirelli and Red Bull lodged an investigation into the incident but were unable to find
a reason behind it.
Hembery said that Pirelli has already decided upon the 2012 tyres to be used but are not going to be rigid on maintaining the same tyres and can alter them during the season in accordance with the need of the situation.
It will be interesting to see how many drivers are able to adjust to the Pirelli tyres as drivers like Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa and Mark Webber found it hard to deal with. The teams are working hard to tweak their cars to be more reliable and faster
but adjusting to the new compounds might play a significant role as well.
Tags: