Pirelli's Bahrain tyre compound switch not a kneejerk reaction
Pirelli's decision to switch its compound choice for the Bahrain Grand Prix was made several weeks ago and was not a reaction to what happened in China, AUTOSPORT has learned
Formula 1's tyre supplier has brought the medium and hard compound to this weekend's race at Sakhir, having originally intended to use the soft and hard compound for round four of the 2013 Formula 1 world championship.
However, having seen how its new more aggressive compounds reacted in the opening two grands prix, the Italian company elected to change its plans in the days after the Malaysian race.
It believed that with teams having experienced high degradation at Sepang, it would be better at the abrasive Bahrain circuit to use its most conservative choice.
The decision to use the medium instead of the soft was communicated to the teams before the Chinese Grand Prix - a race that fuelled intense debate about the impact tyres are having on F1 racing this year.
News of the change of compound choice was only made public earlier this week.
Pirelli is also awaiting a decision from the FIA and teams over its proposal for teams using rookies in free practice to get an extra set of tyres, as revealed by AUTOSPORT.
It is hoped the matter will be voted on over the Bahrain GP weekend.
This week's AUTOSPORT magazine features a hard-hitting column from Pirelli's Paul Hembery on his company's approach to F1 2013
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Mercedes form leaves Wolff in two minds on F1 2025 driver path
Interview: Newey’s vision on what F1 should be
The ironic reason Newey thinks Red Bull hasn't been caught in F1 yet
Dale Coyne Racing retains Harvey for Long Beach IndyCar race
How to watch WRC's Croatia Rally: schedule, line-up and more
McLaren F1 team bracing for "damage limitation" in Chinese GP
How Porsche won, lost and won in Misano Formula E mayhem
The secrets of F1 turbocharging explained
Why Alpine’s rigorous training camp yields telling insights into its juniors
Ranking Derek Warwick’s top 10 greatest races
The ironic reason Newey thinks Red Bull hasn't been caught in F1 yet
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments