Haas predicts minimal issues from Pirelli’s Hypersoft tyre debut

Kevin Magnussen doesn’t believe Pirelli’s new hypersoft will cause any wear concerns at Monaco while feels Haas has profited from stronger tyre management this year.

Having invested in its tyre strategy for 2018, Magnussen feels one key area of improvements has been managing tyre life and performance after making one of the biggest gains by any F1 team this year.

Magnussen says Haas’s new tyre engineer Hiroshi Tomitsuka, a former Bridgestone tyre engineer during its F1 involvement, has been key to its improvements this year, while isn’t concerned about the new tyre challenge for the Monaco Grand Prix. Pirelli will debut the Hypersoft tyre for the Monte Carlo race – billed as the Italian tyre manufacturer’s softest tyre used in the current era of F1 cars – but the Danish driver has no fears of tyre wear for the race.

“I don’t think the Hypersoft is going to be wearing out any faster than the softest tyre has done at any of the other races this year. It’s going to last well,” Magnussen said. “Again, the tyre energies in Monaco are quite low, so I don’t think the Hypersoft tire is a particularly soft tire for Monaco.

“It’s actually a very good tyre in terms of how good the performance is versus wear. I don’t think we’re going to see too many problems with it in terms of extreme graining and so on. It’s going to be fine.”

Magnussen's minimal concerns have been reflected in all F1 teams’ tyre picks with every squad stacking up its allocation of the pink-banded Hypersofts. Red Bull, Renault and Williams have been the most aggressive with its tyre strategy by picking 11 sets of Hypersofts and just one set each of the Supersofts and Ultrasofts for their drivers.

Haas has been one of the most conservative teams with its picks, while Grosjean and Magnussen still have nine sets each of the softest tyres, and the Danish driver is confident it the US team’s progress with tyre management so far this year.

“I feel like we’ve made steps in the right direction with tyre management and tyre understanding, in general,” he said. “We’ve got Tommy-san [Hiroshi Tomitsuka] who’s come in this year, who is our dedicated tyre engineer.

“Together with him and the rest of the team, we’ve moved closer to a better understanding of the tyres, in general. That’s a very positive thing and part of the reason why we’re stronger and more consistent this year.”