Pirelli annouce tyre choices

Who would have thought the tyre choices that Pirelli would be making throughout the 2011 season would prove to be so interesting.

But with the impact that tyre strategy has had on the season to-date, it's hard to ignore these announcements when they come around.

Even after four races, we still have teams running different strategies to their rivals, even amongst team-mates, with McLaren being the prime example last Sunday with Lewis Hamilton pitting four times to take fourth, with Jenson Button pitting three times to limp home in sixth.

The tyre strategy and the introduction of KERS and DRS has really added to the spectacle of Formula One this season, so lets hope Pirelli have made the right decisions for which PZero tyre compounds will be heading too Montreal, Valencia and Silverstone.

'When calculating which tyres we will bring to every circuit, we bear a number of factors in mind such as the weather conditions and the nature of the surface,' Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery told formula1.com.

'We then make sure that we select two tyres that will complement each other in terms of racing spectacle and potential strategies as well.

'So we've come up with tyre nominations that should not only be well suited to the characteristics of each circuit but also provide a great race for the drivers and spectators, with plenty of scope for the teams to exercise their strategic skills. Selecting the tyres is a very tough job for us, as in Montreal, Valencia and Silverstone we have no historical data, but we're feeling confident that the choices we have made, in close consultation with the teams and the FIA, should continue the Pirelli tradition of close racing that we have seen so far this year.'

Tyre compounds selected for the Canadian Grand Prix will be soft and super-soft, which are the same compounds which will also be used at Monaco.

For the European Grand Prix, Pirelli have selected a combination of medium and super-soft, which will be the first time the teams will have to work with this combination of rubber on a race weekend.

For the British Grand Prix the teams will return to the most frequently used combination of tyres which are the hard and soft compounds which were also used in Australia, Malaysia, China, Turkey and at the next race in Spain.