Pirelli interested to see impact of updates

Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery says the tyre manufacturer will be analysing how the expected updates change the way cars use their tyres in Spain.

The start of the European season will see the first major upgrades brought to a number of cars following the opening races in Australia and the Far East. While Pirelli has a large amount of knowledge of the Barcelona circuit following two pre-season tests this year, Hembery admits the changes in the cars could have an impact on how the tyres work for some teams.

“Spain is obviously one of the more familiar venues that we go to, as there has already been plenty of data gathered during testing," Hembery said. "One of the things we have noticed so far is that this year Barcelona will once again be a front-limited circuit, from a tyre perspective.

"Last year, the increase in traction and torque from the cars meant that for the first time the race became a rear-limited event, with the useful life of the rear tyres dictating the pit stop strategy. Thanks to the improvements we made to the rear tyre construction for this year, we’re back to Barcelona being a front-limited circuit again.

"However, we do not expect this to mean that there will necessarily be more pit stops this year: last year the majority of competitors used a two-stop strategy and that will probably be the case again. The biggest unknown factor will be the weather: in the past we have seen some very hot weather in Barcelona, but it isn’t always guaranteed.

"The start of the European season traditionally means that many teams bring important upgrades, and it will be very interesting to see how these interact with our 2015 tyres.”

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