As well as supplying Formula One with tires next year, Pirelli will also supply GP2 and continues to supply GP3: ensuring a ladder of talent that will enable young drivers to progress their careers all the way to the top - with the help of Pirelli.
The first step of that ladder is the GP3 series: newly-created this year as a feeder formula to GP2, which is now recognized as the established route to Formula One. The 30 identical cars all use 280-horsepower Renault engines and the same tires, putting the emphasis firmly on driving talent.
At Silverstone this weekend, the GP3 drivers will use the new hard-compound P Zero 13-inch tire for the first time. On the opening two rounds, the medium compound tire was used, while the soft compound made its debut in Valencia. Nonetheless, conditions in Silverstone will be somewhat different to anywhere else. The British track, which is one of the oldest permanent circuits on the Grand Prix calendar, has just undergone extensive redevelopment with a new section added to the infield that increases the lap length to nearly 3.7 miles.
"Working as always in close collaboration with the GP3 series organizers, we identified Silverstone as the right place for our hard-compound GP3 tires to make their debut at the start of the year,” said Pirelli's Racing Manager, Mario Isola, “and we are looking forward to seeing them out on the new Silverstone circuit. The demands placed on the tires are very high there, but we are confident that we have a product that will cope very well with the challenge. Of course we are constantly evolving the tire design, so if we see at the end of the weekend that there is not enough wear, we can certainly adjust the hard compound in future. But there are so many other factors at work at this very famous circuit that it is hard to predict exactly what is going to happen over what is sure to be another extremely exciting weekend!"
After the opening six races of the season, Mexico's Esteban Gutierrez leads the GP3 series from Canadian Robert Wickens and America's Alex Rossi. ART Grand Prix leads the teams' championship ahead of Manor Racing.
