Pirelli to supply extra tyres in Melbourne

Teams will be supplied an extra set of tyres in Australia on Friday, Pirelli has announced.

Following the extreme wear degradation seen in winter testing, the FIA recently agreed a new rule that will allow extra tyres to be supplied at some events if necessary this year.

And as the weather in Melbourne this weekend is "likely to be different" to that seen in Spain in recent months, "teams will be given an extra set of prime (hard) tyres" for Friday morning, a media statement confirmed.

The move will allow teams to "run more laps in free practice to finalise the setup", added Pirelli.

Pirelli has said consistently that it specifically designed its 2011 product to wear quickly following requests from the teams and Bernie Ecclestone.

"We’re aiming for between two and three pitstops in Australia, which in some ways is against our company DNA as our road car tyres are designed to be as durable as possible," said boss Paul Hembery.

The highest number of pitstops ever recorded in Melbourne was in 2004, with an average of 2.45 per driver.