F1® Tyres

For the 2019 Formula 1® season, Pirelli will present a new range of tyres. The offering has been slimmed down to just five slick compounds and three colors per race; white will be hard, yellow denote medium and red will indicate soft. Each compound this year will be assigned a numeric code rather than permanent color assignment. The new range will be numbered from C1 to C5, with C1 being the hardest and C5 the softest. These new tyres have been designed to increase resistance to overheating and provide greater consistency over the course of a stint. The range also includes a revised wet and intermediate tyre choices.

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SLICK TYRES

C1 stands for Compound 1, and it’s the hardest tyre in the 2019 Pirelli range, sitting just below the 2018 hard in terms of compounding. It’s designed for circuits that put the highest energy loadings through the tyres, which will typically feat

C2 means Compound 2, effectively last year’s medium tyre. A versatile compound, but sitting at the harder part of the spectrum, it comes into its own on circuits that tend towards high speeds, temperatures, and energy loadings. This tyre has demonstrated an ample working range and adaptability to a wide variety of different circuits.

This tyre is equivalent to the soft that was nominated in all but four of the races last year. It strikes a very good balance between performance and durability, with the accent on performance. It’s a very adaptable tyre that can be used as the softest compound at a high-severity track as well as the hardest compound at a low-severity track or street circuit.

This is closest to the 2018 ultrasoft and it works well on tight and twisty circuits. It has a rapid warm-up and huge peak performance, but the other side of this is its relatively limited overall life.

The softest 2019 compound is the heir to the universally-popular hypersoft: the fastest compound that Pirelli has ever made. This tyre is suitable for all circuits that demand high levels of mechanical grip, but the trade-off for this extra speed and adhesion is a considerably shorter lifespan than the other tyres in the range. Getting the most out of it will be a key to race strategy.

Wet Tyres

INTERMEDIATE GREEN

The intermediates are the most versatile of the rain tyres. They can be used on a wet track with no standing water, as well as a drying surface. This tyre evacuates 30 litres of water per second per tyre at 300kph. There’s a new compound that is designed to expand the working range, guaranteeing a proper crossover both with the slicks and the full wets.

INTERMEDIATE BLUE

The full wet tyres are the most effective solution for heavy rain. These tyres can evacuate 85 litres of water per second per tyre at 300kph. There’s a new profile designed to increase resistance to aquaplaning, which will give the tyre more grip in heavy rain. The diameter of the full wet tyre is 10mm wider than the slick tyre.

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