Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli will take the super-soft compound back to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix in September, it has been confirmed.
Last year saw the red-striped rubber make its debut at the ‘Temple of Speed’ and with the 2017 tyres proving highly durable, it is no surprise to see the softer direction taken once again.
The super-soft, soft and medium choices are the most commonly chosen so far with eight races having used or will use the same three compounds, with further races in Mexico, the United States and Brazil also likely to use allocation
Last week it was revealed that the ultra-soft tyre will be used at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps circuit, therefore, the decision to take one step harder to Monza, a circuit basically consisting of long straights and slow corners, may surprise some.
However, as was the case at the last race in Baku, the loads on a tyre at speeds in excess of 340kph down the straight put tremendous stress on the construction of a tyre and that is something softer compounds are not designed to cope with.
This year F1 teams will also be greeted by a revised layout at Monza, with the first chicane taken out and the main straight lengthened before the drivers will kink right before the Curve Grande to a new chicane to be installed on the inside of the famous long right-hander, the remainder of the circuit will be the same as 2016.