Pirelli could allow teams to choose their own tyre compounds ahead of race weekends from 2013 onwards.
The Italian tyre manufacturer currently determines the two compounds that would be used for each Grand Prix but that decision may be handed to the teams in the future.
“These conversations are geared towards 2013 and we may let the teams choose compounds, but these are just discussion points,” said Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery.
“We received a memo from the drivers only, asking us to review the tyre allocation because at the end of each race the drivers still have a set of unused tyres – usually the harder of the two compounds,” he explained.
Red Bull’s Mark Webber is open to the idea but believes choosing tyres in advance could be difficult.
“It would not be easy to pick (the tyres) a month before, in terms of allocation and what specific venues might need,” said the Australian.
“But, yeah, not a stupid idea but obviously it needs a bit more thought to see how it would work over the course of a full season, and obviously for the lead teams to make the decision.”
Pirelli are currently designing new faster compounds for 2012 including a new rear and wet weather tyre but Hembery says there won’t be any major changes next year.
“We’re researching new compounds that could improve lap times by as much as 1.2s per lap, but that’s too much. We’re looking for a maximum improvement of 0.6s to 0.8s per lap and to meet that we’ve designed a new rear tyre.”
The colour of the markings, which distinguish one tyre from the other, may also be changed from next year to help increase visibility for spectators.
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Originally Posted by Tony
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