Drivers happy with new Pirelli ’hyper soft’

Top F1 drivers have shown a thumbs up to Pirelli’s softer new tyres for 2018.

As he tested the brand new ’hyper soft’ in the post-Abu Dhabi GP tyre test, world champion Lewis Hamilton said it was Pirelli’s best ever.

Pirelli reports that the pink-marked tyre is "about a second per lap faster" than the ultra-soft.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was fastest on Wednesday with the pink hyper-soft.

"The new tyre is really a surprise," said the German.

"It’s a real step forward, but of course it’s up to Pirelli to decide on what tracks we get to use it.

"It’s really fast on one lap and then it degrades more noticeably than the others, but it’s within limits. All in all it was a really interesting test," Vettel added.

Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas also admitted that he "really felt the difference" between Pirelli’s 2017 and 2018 tyres.

"It was a really interesting day, trying out the new Pirellis and discovering the differences between this year’s and next year’s tyres."

"I could really feel the differences and it was nice to get the feel now rather than next year. We tested all kinds of compounds and learned a lot out of all of them. I myself learned a great deal about the driving style with these new tyres."