Pirelli reveals tyre compound choices for F1 2021
Pirelli has announced its compound choices for the 2021 Formula 1 season, with its selection broadly in line with last year's approach.


While in the past Pirelli has decided on its tyre choices a few weeks in advance of races, it has elected to plan out the entire campaign for 2021 because of ongoing complications caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Pirelli's head of F1 and car racing Mario Isola said: "Announcing all the selections for the year right now will help the teams and the drivers with their planning, also allowing for maximum flexibility just in case the calendar has to change due to COVID-19 restrictions, as we saw last year."
While Pirelli brings a soft, medium and hard to every race, the actual compound selection does vary track to track.
For 2021, the compounds are pretty much aligned with what's been used in the past – although softer rubber will be taken to Baku and Brazil.
Isola added: "The selections themselves are on the whole similar to last year (or 2019, in the case of races not run in 2020), which means that teams should have plenty of data to fall back on - but we have two races where the nominations are softer.
"The first is Azerbaijan, where our C2 hard tyre wasn't used last time, so we are now going with the softest selection of all: C3, C4 and C5.
"Then we have Brazil, where we will take the C2, C3 and C4 this year, as the C1 that was selected as the hardest choice last time didn't show a particularly big advantage in terms of wear over the medium. In both cases, the softer nomination could lead to a greater variety of race strategies".
With F1 continuing to use different protocols because of COVID, the forthcoming campaign will be another one where every driver is given the same allocation of tyre sets each weekend.
Previously, teams could nominate a varied selection for their drivers depending on how aggressive or conservative they wanted to be.
Just like last year though drivers will all have the same sets available at the start of the weekend, which will be two hards, three mediums and eight softs.
While the selections have been laid out now, there is scope within the regulations for the choices to be changed in exceptional circumstances up to 15 days before an event starts.

Pirelli 2021 tyre compound choices
Photo by: Pirelli
Related video

Gasly: I’m ready to be AlphaTauri F1 team leader in 2021
How AlphaTauri has adapted to F1's new rules

Latest news
Why it's Red Bull that really leads a three-way fight so far at Silverstone
After a slow start to Friday at Silverstone, all the Formula 1 teams had to effectively cram in a day’s worth of practice into one hour. But there was still plenty to learn and while Ferrari topped the times, a three-way battle is brewing ahead of the British Grand Prix
Verstappen exclusive: Why F1's champion isn't fazed by Silverstone return
Max Verstappen is the world’s number one racing driver… and he’s determined to keep it that way. Speaking exclusively to GP Racing's OLEG KARPOV, the Red Bull driver explains why he’s relishing the 2022 championship battle with Charles Leclerc – and why he’s not worried about returning to Silverstone, the scene of the biggest accident of his career last year
Why Red Bull’s RB17 hypercar can help its F1 team
On Tuesday, Red Bull laid out its plans to develop and build a new hypercar - the RB17 - penned by Adrian Newey. As the project itself sates Newey as a creative outlet, it also offers Red Bull's Formula 1 team a number of new and exciting avenues to pursue.
What to expect from Mercedes as F1 returns to Silverstone
OPINION: The British Grand Prix is a home event for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, with their Mercedes team based just a few miles away too. But there’s another reason why the Silver Arrows squad is eager to arrive at Silverstone this weekend, which may help it fix its remaining problems with its 2022 Formula 1 challenger .
Inside AlphaTauri’s Faenza F1 factory
AlphaTauri’s mission in F1 is to sell clothes and train young drivers rather than win the championship – but you still need a cutting-edge factory to do that. Team boss Franz Tost takes GP Racing’s Oleg Karpov on a guided tour of a facility that’s continuing to grow.
Connecting two of Ferrari's favourite F1 sons: Villeneuve and Leclerc
Gilles Villeneuve's exploits behind the wheel of a Ferrari made him a legend to the tifosi, even 40 years after his death. The team's current Formula 1 star Charles Leclerc enjoys a similar status, and recently got behind the wheel of a very special car from the French-Canadian’s career.
How a 30cm metal wire triggered open warfare in the F1 paddock
Porpoising has become the key talking point during the 2022 Formula 1 season, as teams battle to come to terms with it. An FIA technical directive ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix and a second stay appearing on the Mercedes cars only served to create a bigger debate and raise tensions further
Does Max Verstappen have any weaknesses left?
Having extended his Formula 1 points lead with victory in Canada, Max Verstappen has raised his game further following his 2021 title triumph. Even on the days where Red Bull appears to be second best to Ferrari, Verstappen is getting the most out of the car in each race. So, does he have any weaknesses that his title rivals can exploit?