Pirelli comes home

Other than Sebastian Vettel and his RB7's impressive dominance of the 2011 season, there has also been one other major success story. Pirelli's return to the sport has been hugely impressive, perhaps more so than KERS or DRS, 2011's other main innovations. The durability, not to mention the differing strategies and management of the tyres have provided some thrilling action which has eased the need for a tyre war, not seen since Bridgestone and Michellin in 2006.

Pirelli will bring the soft and medium compounds to Monza this weekend in a bid to cope with the demands of the tracks high speed nature. According to Pirelli's technical notes, 'a typical aerodynamic package for Monza will generate about 15% less downforce than is used in Spa, the venue of the last race. This has a profound effect on the tyres, allowing them to slide more. Moreover, Suspension is another area that impacts on the tyres at Monza. The low downforce means that the cars rely heavily on mechanical grip, so the suspension set-up is designed to ensure the best possible traction under acceleration and braking, while allowing the drivers to attack the chicanes'.

Pirelli's Motorsport Director Paul Hembery said: “Monza is obviously a very important race for us, both from a technical and a company point of view. We’re all looking forward to competing at home, with the championship reaching a crucial point in the season. On a rapid circuit like Monza the tyre strategy is sure to be vital, as it’s going to be hard to make up any time lost in the pits with the cars at full throttle for so much of the time. We expect to see a difference of about a second per lap between the soft and the medium tyre, but we’ll only know for sure once the cars start running in free practice.

"The versatility of the tyre is going to be a key element, as the rubber will have to cope with a wide range of conditions this weekend. It’s a big challenge as always, but at the same time we’re very much looking forward to being able to showcase the very best of Italian technology and know-how at home in Italy.”

Josh.