F1: Pirelli reveals Australia, China tire compounds

Pirelli has revealed the tire compound line-up for the first and second grands prix of the 2017 Formula 1 season.

For Australia, to be held March 24-26 on the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne:

• Yellow soft
• Red supersoft
• Purple ultrasoft

These are the tires that must be available (one of them to be used) at some point in the race:

• One set of Yellow soft
• One set of Red supersoft

Assigned for Q3 in qualifying:

• One set of Purple ultrasoft

For China, to be held April 7-9 in Shanghai:

• White medium
• Yellow soft
• Red supersoft

These are the tires that must be available (one of them to be used) at some point in the race:

• One set of White medium
• One set of Yellow soft

Assigned for Q3 in qualifying:

• One set of Red supersoft

Each driver must save for Q3 one set of the softest of the three nominated compounds. This set will be given back to Pirelli after Q3 for those who qualify in the top 10, but the remaining drivers will keep it for the race.

The teams are free to choose the remaining 10 sets; making up 13 sets in total for the weekend.

New frames for 2017

Pireelli's range of tires has been completely transformed, with new sizes (305/670-13 at the front and 405/670-13 at the rear) as well as new profiles, constructions and compounds.
The compounds in particular make use of entirely new materials and a completely fresh design philosophy.

Following extensive testing with the new sizes, Pirelli has decided to additionally homologate a back-up compound alongside each of the five new base compounds. These extra compounds are formulated using more traditional criteria compared to the new base compounds.

For the first part of the championship, only the new-generation base compounds have been selected. The back-up compounds could be introduced later during the course of next season to respond to any particular requirements once the performance levels of the 2017 cars have been fully identified.