Hyper-soft at Monaco

Pirelli have confirmed that the Monaco Grand Prix will feature hyper-soft tyres for the first time.

Last week, it was confirmed that the hyper-softs will be available for the Canadian Grand Prix however the famous Monaco Grand Prix takes place before.

Pirelli’s sporting director Mario Isola said: “We have two weeks to confirm the allocation for Monaco, but it is clear and it is no surprise that we are planning to use the hyper-soft in Monaco.

“The first race where we see the hyper-soft is not Montreal but it is Monaco just because Montreal is an over-sees event so we had to select the compounds 15 week in advance, Monaco is a European event, it’s nine weeks in advance.”

Isola was also questioned about tyre performance during testing and echoed what teams and drivers had been saying.

“Graining is new compared to last year. Last year we didnt have any graining.

“But I feel that the new tarmac is generating a bit of graining because it is smooth and we have some sliding especially on the front left which is generating this graining.

“We have to confirm we have this kind of effect when we come back in May with higher temperatures.

“(blistering) not a surprise considering the level of energy that the new cars are putting on the tyres.”