F1: Pirelli reveals first 2015 tire choices

Pirelli has confirmed it will take the same lineup of tire compounds to the opening four Formula 1 grands prix of the new season as it did in 2014.

The F1 season opener in Australia, the Chinese Grand Prix and the Bahrain Grand Prix will all utilize the soft and medium tires. In Malaysia, the medium and hard compounds will be used owing to higher ambient temperatures and a more abrasive surface.

The entire range features a new rear construction, estimated by Pirelli as two-to-three tenths a lap faster than the 2014 rubber. The overriding aim, though, was to better distribute heat across the entire tread and reduce blistering and graining in the second year of the new power unit formula.

"The biggest issue [in 2014], what we expected to be the biggest issue, was [that] the torque of the new powertrain and the rear sliding means surface overheating," Mario Isola, Pirelli's racing manager, said during Barcelona's final pre-season test. "Last year's product was designed based on the simulations we received from the teams. Last year we were able to collect a lot of information, realized we had peak temperature in some areas of the tread and we decided to develop a new construction in order to have a better temperature distribution that means, as a consequence, better tire wear.

"The wear profile will be better but, also in terms of performance what we call 'combined traction' – the traction at the exit of the corner – will improve a little bit. Drivers will be able to go on the throttle a little bit earlier because of this change in construction."

Originally on Autosport.com