By Denna Bowman

Motorists can save money at the pumps by switching to fuel-efficient tyres, according to tests by Which?

With fuel prices at a record high, the Which? report reveals that ‘eco’ tyres could help drivers save 6 per cent by enabling vehicles acheive more miles per gallon (mpg).

According to the Which? report: “In our latest tyre tests, one of the sizes we assessed was 205/55 R16V - one of the UK’s most widely fitted tyre sizes.

“The tyres which came top for fuel economy were the Pirelli Cinturato P7s and the Hankook Kinergy Eco K425, which both beat big names like the Continental PremiumContact 5, Goodyear OptiGrip and Bridgestone Turanza T001 for rolling resistance.

“In fact, fitted to a car returning 40mpg, either the Pirelli or the Hankook would give you an extra 2.4mpg (around 6%) compared with the worst tyre in our test for rolling resistance, the Nexen N8000. That equates to around £50 a year at today’s record fuel prices.”

To find out more go to http://www.which.co.uk/news/2012/04/eco-tyres-are-the-key-to-saving-fuel-282614/#ixzz1r4csPEIQ

By Alex Kapadia

Pirelli has announced the tyres it will be taking to the Grand Prix races in Bahrain, Spain and Monaco.

For Bahrain, the Italian tyres manufacturer will adopt the same medium and soft selection made for Australia and China, which takes into account the hot temperatures and medium grip characteristics of the Middle Easter circuit.

The hard and soft compounds will be used for Catalunya to cope with the track’s high lateral tyre loadings and promote strategic variety.

For Monte Carlo, the slowest track on the calendar, the super soft tyres will make their debut of the season to maximise grip alongside the soft compound.

Paul Hembery, motorsport director for Pirelli, said: “Our nominations this year are designed to push the envelope of performance, as can be seen from our latest choices.

“Only the super soft tyre is the same compound as last year: the other compounds are softer and therefore faster, designed to encourage closer racing as well as a wider variety of strategies.”

Pirelli has underlined its dedication to Formula One by taking on two permanent test drivers for the first time to put its tyres through their paces.

Last season, Brazilian Lucas di Grassi carried out the role single-handedly, but this year he is being joined by Spanish driver Jaime Alguersuari.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, said: “Our commitment to providing the best possible spectacle in Formula One is underlined by the fact that we have two extremely fast and talented test drivers this year.

“Lucas will provide us with the reference point that we need from the development programme so far, while Jaime brings an extra dimension from his experience of racing at the sharp end of the field throughout the last three seasons.

“We’re going to be using the drivers for all of our single-seater testing activities, including GP2 and simulator development as well.

“Their input and expertise are sure to help us make even greater progress during the season, resulting in competition tyres that enhance the action further and new technologies that will eventually filter down to our Ultra High Performance road car products.

“With opportunities for young drivers to drive a Formula One car so limited, this is a great chance for Lucas and Jaime to not only hone their testing and development skills, but also to potentially follow our former test drivers like Romain Grosjean, Pedro de la Rosa and Nick Heidfeld in returning to F1 or another top flight motorsport programme in future.”

Denna Bowman, Head Office

By Denna Bowman

Pirelli has announced its F1 tyres test drivers as it storms into the 2012 season.

Spanish driver Jaime Alguersuari has been picked up by the Italian tyres manufacturer after being left without a drive for this season when he was dropped by Toro Rosso.

Alguersuari will team up with Lucas di Grassi, who carried out the role single-handedly last year, and they will be using a 2010 Renault R30 for the testing programme, which includes four stints at Jerez, Spa, Monza and Barcelona.

The tests will be aimed at defining the 2013 range of Pirelli tyres.

Alguersuari, who has also joined the BBC as a commentator for this year, said: “I’m very happy indeed to have this fantastic opportunity.

“A week ago it was my birthday, when I turned 22, and now Pirelli has given me the best possible present.

“I can’t wait to get started with this very important and challenging job of developing the new tyres for the future, which I’m looking forward to a lot.

“I have a huge desire to get behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car again and return to competition, so this is a brilliant chance for me.”

di Grassi, who started 18 races for Virgin Racing in 2010 and was Pirelli’s test driver throughout the 2011 season, added: “I’m delighted to be back for another year with Pirelli after an extremely successful first season of collaboration.

“We learned a lot together and so we are both very happy to continue.

“This is a good opportunity for me to carry on the work that we started last year, which allows me to compare and contrast with all the tyres I have tested so far.

“These tyres are now a fantastic feature of Formula One.”

Just two races into the 2012 Formula One season and the talk is all about tyres.

The buzz is centred around how individual teams and drivers use the new generation of Pirelli tyres to secure victory.

“This is probably the most important area at the moment,” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was quoted as saying by DPA news agency.

“Different cars are fast at different times.”

Horner is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport: “If you are not in ‘the window’, you’re nowhere. And that’s different from tyre (compound) to tyre, and from driver to driver.

“I think the only good thing is that it will be a really good year for the fans.”

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso and Sauber racer Sergio Perez may have ended the race on different compounds, but it was agreed that both played the tyre game to perfection.

There may have been complaints about degradation, but managing tyre life and when to stop for replacements proved to be a key element of the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Alonso used three of Pirelli’s four available tyre compounds – wet, intermediate and medium slick – to win race, while Perez secured a career-best second place after a great tactical call saw him change from inters to wets after just one lap.

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

By Alex Kapadia

Tyres strategy played a key role in the securing victory at the rain-hit Malaysian Grand Prix, with the top two drivers opting for different set-ups.

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso used three of Pirelli’s four tyres and crossed the finishing line on P Zero White, while Sauber driver Sergio Perez came second after a spectacular performance which saw him finish on the hard tyre.

A rain shower before the start of the race meant that all the drivers, apart from the two HRTs, started on Cinturato Green intermediates.

After just one lap, Perez came into the pits to change to full wets as the rain fell harder – and this call turned out to be the foundation of his result.

His early stop meant that Perez was up to third when the race was suspended on lap eight because of torrential rain. The re-start took place behind the safety car, which obliged all the drivers to start on the full wet tyres, according to the rules.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, commented: “This race had echoes of Canada last year, which was also suspended due to rain.

“Once more, that created an intriguing set of circumstances and some stand-out performances, such as Alonso and Perez at the front, who were the class of the field.

“After the re-start, it was important for the drivers to look after the intermediates – which showed great versatility in very mixed conditions – in order to keep them within their operating temperature range.

“The top two finishers adopted a completely different tyre strategy, with Alonso on the medium tyre
and Perez on the hard tyre in the final stint, which shows how our decision to close up the performance gaps between the compounds has led to even closer racing.

“We’d also like to congratulate Bruno Senna, who scores his best-ever grand prix result in sixth.”

The tyres will hold the key to success at the the Malaysian Grand Prix, according to Lewis Hamilton.

The McLaren driver, who starts from pole position, reckons that managing the Pirelli tyres will play a big part in tomorrow’s race.

“It is [crucial at Sepang]; positioning and tyre management,” he said. “In these conditions you never know what is going to happen, and these tyres are having a seriously hard time around here, so it’s going to be interesting.

“This is a very tricky circuit with the temperatures and humidity outside. It will be massively tough tomorrow, so we just have to put ourselves in the best place we can.”

Hamilton claimed his second straight pole of the 2012 season and will again share the front row with his McLaren team-mate Jenson Button, who leads the championship after his victory in Australia last weekend.

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

By Alex Kapadia

Data gathered at the practice session ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix will help Pirelli calculate how their tyres will perform during the race.

For the first time this year, the new P Zero Silver hard tyres were was seen in action where the teams put them through their paces in the hot and humid conditions of Sepang.

The track temperature peaked at 47 degrees centigrade and McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton clocked up the quickest ties in the morning and afternoon sessions on the hard and them the medium tyres.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, said: “Due to the weather conditions and the abrasive track surface, degradation here is a lot higher than it was in Melbourne.

“The hard tyre stood up very well during the long runs, but we will have to analyse all the data properly in order to have a better idea of exactly how many laps each tyre will last for and how many pit stops we are likely to see.

“Our first impression is that a three-stop strategy seems likely and so far there is a difference of around 0.5 seconds between the two compounds, but the track will still evolve considerably before the race.

“Today’s sessions were extremely important for the teams to carry out longer runs that will enable them to determine the crossover point between the different compounds, and which tyres they will race on.”

By Alex Kapadia

Pirelli is set to debut its latest P Zero Silver tyres at the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend.

The 2012-specification of the hardest and most durable tyre of Pirelli’s Formula One range makes its first appearance at what is regarded as one of the most challenging races of the season.

Tyres are pushed to their limits on the Sepang circuit due to extremes of weather that frequently take in soaring temperatures as well as torrential rain.

The track is characterised by an abrasive surface that adds to the demands placed on the tyres, which have to cope with two long straights as well as several hairpins that test traction.

These extreme requirements make Sepang the ideal territory for the P Zero Silver, whose resilient qualities have inspired the recently-launched P Zero Silver road car tyre, which prioritises endurance as well as performance.

Alongside the P Zero Silver hard, the P Zero White medium tyre has been nominated for Malaysia, which was also seen in Australia.

This combination best covers the wide-ranging conditions seen in Malaysia, with the Cinturato Green intermediate and Cinturato Blue full wet also ready to deal with the torrential downpours that are a common feature of the track, located just north of the equator.

Even when it is not raining, humidity remains at about 80%, increasing the physical challenge for the drivers.

The increased tyre wear caused by the unique nature of Malaysia could lead to an increased number of pit stops, with three stops proving to be the winning strategy last year.

However, the compounds used by Pirelli this year are generally softer and faster. The hard compound that will be seen in Malaysia this weekend is much closer in character to the 2011 medium compound, underlining the constantly-evolving performance of the P Zero covers.

Not everyone was happy with Pirelli’s new tyres at the start of the 2012 Formula One season - Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn blamed them for the disappointing end to the squad’s weekend.

Both Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg had shown promising pace during the weekend, with the seven-time champion qualifying in fourth and his team-mate in seventh for the Australian Grand Prix.

However, Brawn blamed tyre degradation for poor results achieved by Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg.

Schumacher retired on lap 11 after losing all drive and Rosberg’s pace was not good enough to fight for the top positions and he finished in 12th position after making contact with Sauber’s Sergio Perez on the final lap.

Brawn admitted his drivers had struggled with tyre degradation.

“After a very encouraging weekend, today was not a good result for us,” said Brawn. “Despite excellent starts, both Michael and Nico had difficulties from the start of the race with their tyres. With the development of the circuit and the track temperatures, we fell out of the working window, and struggled with degradation.

“However, we remain positive as both here and over the winter tests, we have demonstrated that we have a fundamentally quick car and we have a lot to build on. So we need to look at what happened today, unravel the problem and work out where we need to improve.”

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team