Button not expecting change from Pirelli tyre freedom

Jenson Button thinks the new-for-2016 tyre rules will not result in any major change, as the McLaren-Honda driver expects all Formula One teams to make the same choices fairly quickly.

In a bid to allow greater strategy freedom and spice up the racing, F1’s official and sole tyre supplier Pirelli will select three compounds – out of its five – for each race.

Teams will then be able to pick 10 of the 13 sets they are using each weekend, with the softest compound required to be used in Q3 and at least one of two compounds nominated by Pirelli mandatory for the race.

Button is not entirely convinced and actually wishes revamped regulations had gone further.

“Everyone will use the same tyres,” he is quoted as saying by Autosport.

“Unless they have a massive issue with one tyre, everyone will use the same tyres. They have limited it.

“If it was completely open and you could use any of the tyres available, then you might have the possibility of someone running something a bit different, a bit crazy.

“But you're limited to three different tyres and everyone will be on exactly the same. After the first race, nobody will talk about it any more.”

Pirelli has already nominated the medium, soft and supersoft compounds for the three opening races of 2016, i.e. Australia, Bahrain, and China. The Italian company will also introduce a new purple-marked ultrasoft tyre, which is expected to debut on a street circuit like Sochi or Monaco.

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