Does this Pirelli decision give McLaren an extra edge?

This season, McLaren has been the best at keeping the tyres alive during the Grands Prix. But can it do the same with a new ultra-soft tire that Pirelli is introducing for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix? If any team could, it would probably be McLaren - the team that could well be called the tyre whisperers.

The new C6 compound will make its race debut in Imola this weekend. It is Pirelli's softest tire, offering the most grip but also the highest wear and tear. At least, for most teams. But can McLaren keep the tire alive longer? It's a question that adds an extra layer of excitement for the first European race.

For the upcoming weekend, Pirelli has opted for the softest trio of compounds from the tire spectrum. This means that in Italy, the C4 will be the Hards, the C5 the Mediums, and the C6 the Softs. It is the first time the drivers will be using the C6 this season, as none of them used this compound during the tests in Bahrain.

The C6 is a tyre specifically for circuits with minimal tyre wear. The tyre could offer even more grip during a fast lap, especially because Imola's surface is less rough than that of an average track. Pirelli also notes that it's difficult to imagine the C6 being used during the race, but it's not ruled out either.

Pirelli finds it much more logical that this changes in the second half of the season. The Italians are convinced that in Imola, as well as in Monaco and Montreal, so much data will be collected by the teams that at some point they might manage to get the setup so that even a long stint on the C6 is possible.