Strategy is set to play an important role in this weekend's British Grand Prix, with Pirelli expecting the race to be more than just a simple one-stop race. The Italian marque originally wished to bring the hard, medium and soft compounds to Silverstone, but abandoned the hard tyre and chose the super soft after heavy demand from the drivers.
Mario Isola said: "The decision to bring softer tyres to Silverstone than we had originally planned was taken by Pirelli, but with the full approval of the drivers, FIA, teams and promoters, who have appreciated what we are trying to do with this more aggressive nomination."
Silverstone is one of the hardest tracks on the calendar for tyre degradation, with 2013 seeing a spectacular case of blowouts. Despite the fact the 2017 tyres have been built to last longer, Isola believes teams may be pushed into making more than one pit-stop.
"This should open up extra possibilities for different strategies and push teams towards more than one pit stop, although we’ll obviously have a better idea of exact wear and degradation rates when we get there, especially with the super soft that makes its Silverstone race debut.
"With Silverstone being among the most demanding tracks for tyres of the entire season, it will be interesting to see how one of the softest tyres in the 2017 range performs there. A lot will depend on the weather: in the past, we’ve seen an extremely wide range of conditions and temperatures."
Fergal Walsh
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