Jan.18 (GMM) Pirelli has followed through with its pledge to produce tyres that require drivers to make multiple pitstops in 2011.
Having replaced long-time supplier Bridgestone, incoming sole tyre marque Pirelli announced last year it wanted to contribute to the 'show' by designing aggressive compounds.According to a report in Autosprint, the Italian marque's 2011 generation of tyres is designed to require two or three pitstops per driver per race.The report said the request for aggressive tyres was made by FOTA's technical division, with the harder compounds designed to last only 30 laps on average.Pirelli's 2009 Toyota test mule is back in action in Pedro de la Rosa's hands this week in Abu Dhabi, where the action kicked off under lights on Monday on an artificially-watered track.It is reportedly during this final private session that Pirelli will finalise its compound selections for 2011, even though the teams may ask for additional changes after the forthcoming group tests in February."These tests will provide us with useful information to finalise our tyre development process for formula one," confirmed Pirelli's F1 boss Paul Hembery at Yas Marina.
