Formula One: Pirelli adds new tires – do we need them all?

Formula One will have a full rainbow of tires to choose from thanks to Pirelli in 2018, but does the world championship really need all these options?

There may be no greater criticized partner of a racing series than their tire provider. In Formula One, brand names like Bridgestone and Pirelli have taken much heat over the years for their reliability and softness of their rubber. Heading into 2018, Pirelli looks to give F1 a full complement of options, creating a so-called rainbow of rubber to choose from.

Announcing their new tires for the 2018 season at the season finale at Abu Dhabi, Pirelli has introduced two new compounds for the new year. Added to the hard, medium, soft, supersoft, and ultrasoft tires are the new superhard and hypersoft tires.

Tire allotments for each team, however, should remain the same and will still require teams to select their tires ahead of the Grand Prix weekend.

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When you add in the intermediate and wet tires for rainy conditions, a total of nine different tire compounds will be available to F1 teams. While each of these compounds will have their own intricacies, whether with falloff or on-track speed, could this be too much of a good thing for teams?

Pit strategy appears set for 2018 to target two stops at each event for most teams, but may prove a little more complicated for fans to keep track of with all the various compounds now being used. But could other moves with the cars or strategy, like allowing for refueling, perhaps have changed the game for 2018 and allowed for more interesting strategy?

Pirelli’s head of car racing Mario Isola had this to say about the new tires:

"“Compared to this year, when the tires grew by 25% to fit a brand-new generation of cars, the changes for next year are less far-reaching.”“However, we’re pleased to present some important innovations with softer and faster compounds across the range: including the new hypersoft.”“We realized that, under the unique circumstances of this year, some of our 2017 compounds were perhaps conservative: the tires we have created for 2018 addresses this, in line with the objective of having around two pit stops at most races.”“However, the fundamental design concept of the tires hasn’t changed next year, preserving the attributes that all drivers have appreciated this year and allowing them to push hard from the start to the finish of each stint.”“The new range consists of faster tires that should lead to even harder and more spectacular racing in 2018”"

Next: F1's 2018 Dark Horse Championship Contender

Do you like that Pirelli will be adding new tires to the fold for the 2018 season? How do you think the drivers and teams in the world championship will adjust?