Pirelli confirms six different colours for tyres
2011 F1 season
Pirelli have confirmed the colours that will be used to distinguish between their tyres.
Unlike last year, each tyre will have its own specific colour.
The different colours will be applied to the logos on the sidewalls of the tyres:
| Tyre | Colour |
| Hard | Silver |
| Medium | White |
| Soft | Yellow |
| Super-soft | Red |
| Wet | Orange |
| Intermediate | Blue |
Click the image above to see each different tyre.
According to Pirelli, “The colours reflect the unique personality of each tyre, enabling viewers to tell instantly not only which is the prime and the option tyre, but also exactly which type of tyre is fitted to each car.”
Motorsport director Paul Hembery said: “We’ re very excited by the prospect of returning to Formula One for the first time in 20 years, and we’re aiming to be a proactive and colourful partner in Formula One.
“So what better way to symbolise this than a brightly coloured selection of Pirelli logos to run on the sidewalls? These will enable both live and television audiences to tell at a glance who is on what compounds, which will be vital knowledge as tyres are set to form a key part of race strategy this year.”
Pirelli tyres
-
- Pirelli tyre range
-
- Pirelli hard
-
- Pirelli medium
-
- Pirelli soft
-
- Pirelli soft
-
- Pirelli super-soft
-
- Pirelli wet
-
- Pirelli wet
-
- Pirelli intermediate
-
- Pirelli intermediate
2011 F1 season
- New video of Maldonado and Hamilton's Monaco crash
- How well do you remember the 2011 F1 season? Take the F1 Fanatic quiz
- The 2011 F1 season: The complete F1 Fanatic review
- Your 2011 F1 predictions revisited
- Barrichello tipped to stay at Williams
- 2011 F1 statistics part 3: Stats and facts highlights
- 2011 F1 statistics part two: Vettel's domination
- 2011 F1 statistics part one: car performance
- New 2011 rules produced best racing of last four years
- What F1 Fanatics really thought of the 2011 season
Browse all 2011 F1 season articles
Image © Pirelli
verstappen said on 18th March 2011, 15:38
silver – yellow might be a little hard. Do they actually maintain a step between the tyres?
And I keep saying they should have their curved logo on the tyres.
verstappen said on 18th March 2011, 15:42
hard= hard to see the difference between compounds
Henry said on 18th March 2011, 17:52
Surely silver – white will be harder to differentiate!
Burnout said on 18th March 2011, 19:23
Very unlikely that you’ll see hard and medium tyres on the same weekend, so it’s not too big an issue.
Cole (@cole) said on 18th March 2011, 19:39
Given the track, they bring tyres with a step in between . For a given race it will be super soft-medium, or soft-hard plus intermediate and wet.
WilliamsRBS said on 20th March 2011, 4:41
Why would not pirelli use the green color? I don’t know, i just want more range of colors thus make it easier to be differentiated. :)
Carlos Santos said on 18th March 2011, 15:43
“And I keep saying they should have their curved logo on the tires.”
I guess I agree with you but, perhaps, the “P” would look awkward, can anyone photoshop that?
mateuss said on 18th March 2011, 20:54
Here I did a not too good one -> http://twitpic.com/4as0eo
but it gives an idea, what looks to be an advantage of curving the logo is that the logo would be bigger, making the color stand out better at speed, and also bigger brand exposure :D
Carlitox (@carlitox) said on 18th March 2011, 16:06
About the logo, seconded. A design like the one at GP3 Series last year would have been good.
TommyB said on 18th March 2011, 17:27
I like the colour coding a lot but surely they could have done something better with the White/Grey. That’s going to be impossible to tell the difference.
montreal95 said on 18th March 2011, 17:38
Will the Hard and the Medium compounds ever be raced together? I thought the gap between compounds is maintained?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 18th March 2011, 17:42
Already answered below:
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/03/18/pirelli-confirms-colours-tyres/comment-page-1/#comment-618477
Daniel said on 19th March 2011, 10:19
I’m more concerned about red or yellow being confused with orange on a drying track. Surely Green would have been better?
BasCB said on 19th March 2011, 11:47
I hope they will use the silver in Abu Dhabi under flashlights, that would be nice. Singapore as well, but I think that is more a track for the mediums, isn’t it?
LuvinF1 said on 18th March 2011, 17:48
Why curved? Straight seems to be doing what they intended it to do – to make everyone notice, comment and remember.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 18th March 2011, 23:49
The Pirelli logo would just look weird if it was curved. Besides, the cars will be travelling so quickly that no-one will notice the logos.
BasCB said on 19th March 2011, 11:48
I think you are right about that, when they stand still the Logo looks better like this and when they drive, it will just be a blur of colour any way.
Carlos Santos said on 18th March 2011, 15:39
Can’t decide whether I like it or not!
DANK said on 18th March 2011, 15:41
Other than the red super softs, the colours don’t really match the ‘personalities’, in my opinion
Hard should be a darker colour, medium should be grey/silver
Soft – orange
Wet – green/blue
Intermediate – yellow
Richard said on 18th March 2011, 16:28
I disagree, there is more of a “risk” with the softer tyres and they dont last anywhere near as long. In my opinion the red/yellow symbolise “danger”, the white/silver symbolise “neutral/safe”. On screen you have to make the colours contrast as much possible, so red/yellow vs silver/white in theory should work.
My only concern is from Wet to Soft/Super-soft, but I suppose they are more likely to go from Wet to Intermediate.
sato113 (@sato113) said on 18th March 2011, 17:06
i agree. However the wet tyre compounds are weird, i understand the intermediate being blue but surely the full set tyre should be of a similar tone-
like purple???
matt90 said on 18th March 2011, 17:54
Spose it’s like using an orange football when it snows- in extreme weather condition a bright colour stands out well.
sato113 (@sato113) said on 18th March 2011, 19:08
great shout! all is clear now. (no pun intended)
KarlJMalone said on 18th March 2011, 15:41
Interesting colour choice for Hard and Medium compounds… I think it may be difficult to tell white from silver in race conditions given sun glare and the speed at which cars are moving.
OEL said on 18th March 2011, 16:05
They wont use both at one race.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 18th March 2011, 16:22
As OEL says, Pirelli have indicated they intend to bring tyres a stage apart so it shouldn’t be a problem.
King Six said on 18th March 2011, 16:24
Ah, I was waiting for someone to make that amateur error in an attempt to put a downer on things. It didn’t take long, then.
Rob said on 18th March 2011, 16:39
I find it more of a downer when someone decides to become ‘Mr Patronising’.
lee said on 18th March 2011, 18:35
The colour difference is still dumb though as if you start watching the race half way through and do not know what the other compound is you will still not know if the the is hard or medium. Needing context to determine the type is stupid when there are many other colours available.
Tom said on 18th March 2011, 18:59
But you can tell whether it is the harder or softer compound, the harder one always being silver or white over the yellow and red of the softer two compounts.
Silver and white will never be raced together, neither will red and yellow.
slr said on 18th March 2011, 15:42
Silver and white might be a bit difficult to distinguish from one another.
Carlos Santos said on 18th March 2011, 15:46
There won’t be Silver and white in the same GP, the two compounds won’t be consecutive. Or that rule as changed to 2011?
Carlos Santos said on 18th March 2011, 15:51
although is a bit silly to have different colors if we can’t tell them
Steph (@steph) said on 18th March 2011, 20:23
I don’t know if it’s a rule or just a policy Bridgestone applied but Pirelli will also only bring tyres more than a stage apart.
Meander said on 18th March 2011, 15:51
I actually agree on their match ups, only ones I would switch are wet and intermediate.
Yellow and white are Pirelli’s main colors, so I understand that they put them in the middle. That way, there will always be one of them at every track.
Red – soft, fast. Hard – durable, silver.
Yeah, I get it :)
Bigbadderboom said on 18th March 2011, 17:15
Yerah, I kind of get it, it’s just a mind set thing that we will become accustomed to by association. It may take 4 or 5 races but I think it will become intuitive to the fans. It may be another feature that the casual fan finds difficult to get to grips with though.
Matthew said on 18th March 2011, 15:52
Nice – I think that’s a great solution.
sw6569 (@sw6569) said on 18th March 2011, 15:53
My only concern is that they will be difficult to spot when the car is moving. Its fine and looks great when the car is either stationary or is photographed, but because the line is not consistent, it might be difficult to see when they are moving.
Regardless, its far better than Bridgestone’s effort
ajokay (@ajokay) said on 18th March 2011, 16:19
Aww c’mon Sam, Are you saying that for all those years during the 80′s and 90′s you couldn’t see the yellow blur that was the Goodyear Eagle logo when the car’s were moving at speed?
I think tis is going to be great.
Silver and white will rarely, if ever, be used at the same race, so there’s no problem there. The tire combinations will ususally be red-white or yellow-silver, and blue an orange are sufficiently different from each other and the other colours for use in the rain.
sw6569 (@sw6569) said on 18th March 2011, 17:38
well its been a long time since the goodyears!
Back then though, no one was looking at the tyres (as far as I remember, there were no differentiations between the softs and the hards)
Steph (@steph) said on 18th March 2011, 20:25
It was easy enough to tell with Bridgestone and that was only a thin stripe so I don’t think this will be a problem.
Ben said on 18th March 2011, 15:55
The problem with this is, how will you tell which is fitted from onboard? Or will the green stripe persist as well?
KarlJMalone said on 18th March 2011, 16:15
Never thought of this, good point.
Adrian J said on 18th March 2011, 16:18
Presumably the logo will be on the inner tyre walls as well so you’d probably just be able to see that.
ajokay (@ajokay) said on 18th March 2011, 16:19
It will be, it has been all through testing, and is visible on all the car launch photos.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 18th March 2011, 16:24
The logos are on the insides of the tyres as well so it shouldn’t be a problem. You can see them in various pictures here:
Second Barcelona test – day 4 pictures
Pirelli have not said they’re keeping the green stripe (no bad thing, it looked rubbish).
Gucha said on 18th March 2011, 16:02
And my favourite colour is… Orange.
Let’s pray for an orange season!
mateuss said on 18th March 2011, 17:11
My favorite color is a blur between Orange Blue and Brown.
Fred Schechter said on 18th March 2011, 16:05
So what’s it mean when we see plaid?
Does that mean Jackie is on course?
robk23 (@robk23) said on 18th March 2011, 16:17
I would of thought that the two wet compounds didn’t need their own colours, as it’s easy to tell them apart from the the tread the wet and intermediate tyres have. This is probably to make the tyres easier to understand for casual fans though.
sato113 (@sato113) said on 19th March 2011, 11:36
you can distinguish the different treads at 200mph? wow…
eniQma said on 18th March 2011, 16:22
hmm that remind me to Power Rangers…haha
well nice idea from Pirelli
hope we’ll see a lot of “colours” in F1 this year…
King Six said on 18th March 2011, 16:26
We’ll be seeing Silver and Yellow for most races anyway. What did they say they’re bringing to Australia?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 18th March 2011, 16:32
Hard and soft – and for the next two races as well:
Pirelli choose tyres for first four races
King Six said on 18th March 2011, 16:43
Cheers, Silver and Yellow it is then. I hope the Red tyres won’t be some sort of elusive wonder, locked away because they’re so insane
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 18th March 2011, 16:50
I’ll be surprised if we see the reds before Monaco!
sato113 (@sato113) said on 19th March 2011, 11:39
ooooh i see the new lingo developing here… :)
he’s got the ‘reds’ on!
HAM has pitted and slapped on a new pair of silver boots!
the yellows are very consistent today!
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 18th March 2011, 16:26
I think this a good move from Pirelli. The old green sidewall system used by Bridgestone was flawed for many reasons: it was difficult to see in low light and on onboard cameras, it was tainted by accusations of ‘greenwash’, and it only helped you distinguish between ‘prime’ and ‘option’, rather than all four types of dry tyre.
Assuming we can tell the difference between the tyres when they’re on the cars – and with HD that should be easier – this looks good all round to me.
ajokay (@ajokay) said on 18th March 2011, 16:36
And I could never remember which was which. Was the softer tyre ‘prime’, because it went faster, or was the harder tyre ‘prime’ because it lasted longer.
Was the softer tyre the ‘option’ because it was the option you’d choose to go fast, or was the harder tyre the ‘option’ because it was the option you had to take for the longer stint.
It always confused me.
This way, the softer tyre will always be the colourful one, and the harder one will be the desaturated one.
BasCB (@bascb) said on 18th March 2011, 17:01
Exaclty right, the softer tyre will be just the thing to spice it up and the harder just to take it safe and bring it home.
BasCB (@bascb) said on 18th March 2011, 16:38
Fully agree Keith. This looks nice and it is really easy to see the different colours used on track.
I would love to see how that silver shows up in pictures from low light Australia and even more from Singapore or Abu Dhabi under the floodlights. Just remember that glittery Vettel helmet last season.
The Bridgestone greenstripe was just about the phoniest case of greenwash there is. And people kept asking what tyres were actually used for the “primes” and “options”.
Steph (@steph) said on 18th March 2011, 20:27
I think for us geeks it’ll be better but I’m not sold on whether it will be for a casual viewer who may not remember what all the different colour codes are. It’s gerat for us as it is very specific though.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner) said on 18th March 2011, 21:48
I doubt the casual viewer will really give a hoot as to the difference in the compounds. I’m sure Brundle and Coulthard will make it easy for anyone receiving a UK signal though.
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley) said on 18th March 2011, 23:52
I actually liked Bridgestone’s system. It was very simple and as long as I knew if it was the option or the prime, I wasn’t concerned whether it was a medium, hard, soft or super-soft tyre. This should be good too, althought I don’t like the colours! :P
Steph (@steph) said on 19th March 2011, 11:11
I think a casual viewer would want to know if they were switching from option to prime more than the specific compound which is why I think Bridgestone’s system was easier. Personally, I’ll prefer Pirelli (as long as the colours stand out) as it gives me more information but for others who aren’t as interested in F1 it might be difficult.
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley) said on 19th March 2011, 14:43
@Steph Yes, but it’s going to take me some time to get used to. So many colours! :P