Pirelli motorsport boss Mario Isola has suggested that Formula 1 cars will be around 1.5 seconds per lap faster in 2018 compared with the average pace shown last season.
F1 tyre supplier Pirelli will introduce revised compounds this year, with each of the existing range becoming softer in construction. The aim of the change is to limit the number of one-stop races and induce more strategic variety.
In addition, Pirelli has introduced two brand new compounds in the form of the super-hard and hyper-soft.
At opposite ends of the tyre scale, the super-hard will be treated as a backup compound and is unlikely to be used, while the hyper-soft is intended for venues at which tyre degradation has historically been low.
With the new focus on using softer compounds at races, Pirelli anticipates that tyres will contribute to a significant fall in lap times this season.
“In terms of lap times, we will have faster lap times this year,” Isola stated when speaking on stage at Autosport International.
“You should consider the development of the car that is probably roughly one second per lap as an average. Plus, the fact that – especially at the beginning of the season – we are planning on using the softer compounds.
“So in my expectations, we should be quicker compared to last year by 1.5 seconds per lap as an average. It’s another big step.”
Pirelli took a cautious approach to the 2017 season, on account of F1’s regulation overhaul which promised faster lap times due to increased downforce and wider tyres.
In 2016, post-season tests were carried out in which teams trialed the new tyres with modified ’16 cars in an attempt to replicate the incoming changes.
However, without accurate tests completed using true 2017 machinery, Pirelli’s tyre selection last season was conservative, usually instigating one-stop races.
The new brief is for Pirelli to bring a softer tyre range and is an agenda headlined by the introduction of the fan-named hyper-soft compound.
“It is quite an extreme compound,” Isola said. “I don’t like to call it a qualifying compound because it was developed to be used on some street circuits and other low severity circuits.
“I would like to see hyper-soft in some races this year. Monaco is probably the race where we are going to use it for the first time.”
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