As it reveals the tyre compounds for Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia, the Pirelli tyre range increases from 5 to 6 as a new compound is introduced.

This year, the number of compounds that Pirelli can nominate throughout the season has increased because a new compound has been created in the hardest end of the range.

Last year's C1 tyre has become the C0, the hardest tyre in the range, which will be nominated for the circuits that take the most energy out of the tyres. It's designed to provide maximum resistance to heat and extreme forces, being capable of running very long stints, but this comes at the expense of peak performance.

C1 slots in between last year's C1 and C2. Based on the latter, it was created to reduce the performance gap between what had previously been the two hardest compounds in the range, while C2, third hardest compound, remains very suited to the faster, hotter and more abrasive circuits.

The harder compounds are sometimes nominated for new circuits, providing a conservative selection so that tyre loads can be verified in real-world race conditions for the first time.

C3 is extremely versatile and can be used as either the hardest, the middle or the softest of any three-compound selection. With an excellent balance between performance and durability, this is well-suited to a wide range of conditions.

C4 is designated to work well on low-severity circuits, where quite a quick warm up is required in order to reach peak performance as soon as possible. This tyre is used extensively throughout the season.

C5 is the very softest tyres in the range, designed for the slowest circuits with low wear and degradation where maximum mechanical grip is required from the rubber. These are normally seen at street circuits or where the asphalt is exceptionally smooth.

With this in mind, Pirelli has designated these compounds for the opening three races.