Pirelli believes the lap time difference between the two tire compounds it is bringing for this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix at Spa will be one of the biggest of the season so far.
The manufacturer is using its medium and soft rubber for Spa, and said in a statement that the pace disparity was "likely to be more than one second per lap" due to the circuit's 4.3-mile length. Pirelli motorsport boss Paul Hembery said Spa would be an unknown quantity to an extent, but was confident in the tire choice his company had made for Belgium.
"In many ways Spa is one of the most unpredictable tracks of the season, and since we have never tested here, we have very little data to go on," he said. "From what we have seen in the past though, in Valencia and at the Nurburgring especially, we are confident that this combination of the medium and the soft tire strikes the correct balance between performance and durability, equipping the drivers to display every aspect of their talents.
"It's a race that rewards brave overtaking maneuvers, which is exactly in keeping with our own tire philosophy as well."