2011-06-13

Pirelli tyres in focus, China GP 2011

Shanghai (China), April 14th 2011 - Less than 72 hours after concluding the Malaysian Grand Prix, Pirelli is preparing for the Chinese Grand Prix, round three of the 2011 Formula One World Championship. As was the case in Australia, the teams will have an extra set of hard compound tyres for use during Friday’s first free practice session only. The allocation for the rest of the weekend is unaffected.

TYRE ‘MARBLES’:

The hard and soft PZero tyres are nominated for the Chinese Grand Prix, with the aim of seeing at least two pit stops per car, in line with Pirelli’s philosophy of promoting overtaking both on the track and in the pits. The faster tyre wear compared to previous years can lead to strips of rubber being deposited on the track, which vary in size but are generally the shape and consistency of toffees, weighing between 10 and 20 grams on average. These strips are pliable when warm but become more rigid when they cool down, just like toffee. These rubber ‘marbles’ have always existed in Formula One, but the characteristics of Pirelli’s new compounds mean that the pieces are on average larger and softer than the hard and round ‘marbles’ that have been seen at grands prix in the past.

A Formula One tyre, which weighs approximately eight and a half kilograms when new, will lose around a kilogram and a half as it wears over the course of a stint. With an increased number of pit stops, more rubber will be laid down on the track. This phenomenon is not new in Formula One, but it is most pronounced at circuits where there is a high degree of tyre wear, like Malaysia. Pirelli is looking at ways to reduce these deposits in future, but rubber on the circuit is an inevitable by-product of degradation and the ‘marbles’ left on the circuit pose no danger to competitors or spectators.

The surface and weather in China is generally less aggressive than Malaysia, with conditions more similar to Australia. This means that there should be 30% less tyre wear and fewer pit stops than seen at the Malaysian Grand Prix, which provided a thrilling battle from start to finish.

Read more in the attached pressrelases

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Information about the company: Pirelli Tyre Nordic AB

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