Pirelli has announced the tyre compounds that will be used for the opening two races of the 2017 Formula 1 season, with the Ultrasoft compound being utilised for the first time in Australia.
Teams will also have the use of the Soft and Supersoft for the race around Albert Park, a step softer than in 2016, with Pirelli mandating that at least one set of either the yellow-banded Soft or red-banded Supersoft be used during the race.
One set of the purple-banded Ultrasoft must also be held back for teams to use should they get through to the top ten shootout in qualifying.
Formula 1’s tyre manufacturer also announced the compounds they will bring to the second round of the season in China, with the Soft and Supersoft being used again, whilst the white-banded Medium compound will make its first appearance of the season.
At least one set of either the Soft or Medium must be used during the race, while a set of Supersofts will need to be held back for the final segment of qualifying.
Apart for the mandatory sets, teams will be able to choose the remaining numbers of tyre sets they will take to each venue this season, with a total of thirteen sets being taken to each race weekend.
The Australian Grand Prix will also mark the debut of the wider tyres that will grace Formula 1 in 2017, which are 25% wider than in 2016 and will be used as part of a raft of technical changes that aim to improve the show.
