It has the same basic structure and construction as its predecessor but uses a new compound that reduces degradation and increases the range by 10 percent to 25 percent, depending on a variety of factors such as track surface, weather conditions, set-up and driving style, according to motorsports director Paul Hembery.
The P Zero Silver is designed to represent a bigger step over the P Zero Yellow (soft) tire, which will also be used in Barcelona. The combination gives the crews greater scope to make use of more creative race strategies, he says.
The most critical part of the 4.655-kilometer Montmelo track is Turn Three, a long right-hander that is notorious for working both the front and rear left-hand tires extremely hard. The combined power of KERS and an 830-horsepower engine provide a huge load for the tires to process as they negotiate the corner with a lateral force of 3.9 Gs.The P1 is designed to last between 50,000-60,000 kilometers – about 600 times longer than the Formula One tire – and offers a 30 percent reduction in road noise over its predecessor as well as a 25 percent improvement in rolling resistance, says Hembery.
“Our new P Zero Silver tire is an evolution of the existing tire that should provide an extra five laps or so of running compared to the previous version, widening the gap between the new hard tire and the soft,” he explains.
“This will become the definitive hard tire for the year, providing we see the results that we are expecting from the race,” adds Hembery.
“Our new P Zero Silver tire is an evolution of the existing tire that should provide an extra five laps or so of running compared to the previous version, widening the gap between the new hard tire and the soft,” he continues. “These are tires that have been extensively tested, so I feel confident that they will add another exciting dimension to the race this weekend – particularly in terms of potential strategies.”
For more information, visit www.us.pirelli.com.
