Pirelli has nominated the tyres that will be used in the first four grands prix of the 2015 Formula 1 season.
The Italian supplier will bring the white medium and yellow soft compounds to the Australian, Chinese and Bahrain GPs, while the medium and orange hard tyre will be used in Malaysia.
The choices are the same as last year’s, although Pirelli has developed a new range of tyres this season with a different rear construction designed to distribute forces and temperatures more evenly.
Explaining the choices, Pirelli said mediums and softs are ‘well-suited to the varied demands and wide range of potential weather conditions’ in Melbourne’s Albert Park while the choice of hards at Sepang reflects ‘its abrasive asphalt and high ambient temperatures’.
Mediums and softs will be back at the Shanghai International Circuit owing to its ‘demanding track layout’, and will also be used at Bahrain International Circuit, which is ‘tough on the rear tyres, [and] where the grand prix now starts in the late afternoon and ends in the evening. This leads to falling ambient and track temperatures as the race goes on’.
Tyre nominations for first four GPs of 2015:
Australia – soft, medium
Malaysia – medium, hard
China – soft, medium
Bahrain – soft, medium