Pirelli: Positive feedback over 2018 tyre range

Having completed a two-day tyre test at the Yas Marina circuit, Pirelli have revealed they received plenty of “positive feedback” from the drivers who ran their 2018 tyre range.

Pirelli debuted their 2018 tyres at the Abu Dhabi circuit on Tuesday with the pink-banded hypersoft making its debut.

The teams each had 20 sets of Pirelli’s full range for the test with Sebastian Vettel posting the fastest time with a 1:37.551 on the new tyre.

“The characteristics of the Yas Marina Circuit meant the test concentrated on the compounds from white medium to the pink hypersoft,” said Mario Isola, Head of Car Racing at Pirelli.

“The whole test and all the drivers gave us very positive feedback.

“The new pink hypersoft meets our initial expectations, with times that are about a second per lap faster than the purple ultrasoft, but this obviously needs to be confirmed on other types of track as well.

“All the 2018 tyres are a step softer than this year’s equivalents, in line with what the teams asked for, with the Pink Hyper Soft being two steps softer than the 2017 Ultra Soft.”