The wet tyre compounds have been renamed Cinturato © Pirelli Enlarge Related Links In Focus:

Tyres Feature:

Pirelli pushing on



Pirelli has launched its new tyre compounds for 2012, with 'squarer' and softer options being supplied to the teams.

The tyre manufacturer enjoyed a successful return to the sport in 2011, supplying rapidly degrading tyres that forced multiple pit stops and closer racing while also facilitating overtaking. Changes for 2012 see new compounds for all slicks except the supersoft, with the others all softer and delivering a longer performance peak. The 'squarer' profile provides a more stable contact patch to compensate for the new aerodynamic regulations.

"After the positive experience of last year, the teams asked us to continue providing tyres with the characteristics that contributed to spectacular races in 2011," Pirelli president Marco Tronchetti Provera said. "And this is what we have done, optimising the compounds and profiles in order to guarantee even better and more stable performance, combined with the deliberate degradation that characterised the P Zero range from 2011.

"We're expecting unpredictable races, with a wide range of strategies and a number of pit stops: all factors that both competitors and spectators greatly enjoyed last year. The development work on the new compounds took place throughout the 2011 season, thanks to the impressive learning curve and reaction times from our engineers, who are ready to continue those evolutions during the season ahead."

The tyres also have clearer markings, with the four slicks remaining the same colours while the intermediate is now green and the full wet is blue. The wet tyres have also taken on the Cinturato name that was first used by Pirelli in F1 in the 1950s.