Pirelli has downplayed concerns that the high levels of tyre degradation could be a major problem this season.
Several drivers admitted that they were worried about how quickly the rubber wore off during the second pre-season test in Barcelona with McLaren's Sergio Perez saying it is "extreme" and "a big surprise".
However, Pirelli's Director of Motorsport Paul Hembery believes the weather had a big impact on the tyres at the Circuit de Catalunya and is confident the rubber will last much longer at the Melbourne season opener.
"The teams experienced quite high degradation in Barcelona, and that was really down to the weather," he said in a Pirelli statement.
"The conditions we had in Barcelona are far from typical of the rest of the season, with much cooler ambient and track temperatures than we would normally race in, and even some rain on the final day. This put the tyres outside of their usual working ranges, which led to problems such as graining.
"The conditions were particularly unsuited to the supersoft tyre, due to the circuit layout and the roughness of the surface in addition to the cold temperatures. Coupled with the fact that teams are still making big set-up adjustments to their new cars and trying out our complete range of our tyres to optimise the package, we saw levels of degradation that are not typical.
"Once we get to Melbourne the tyres should be much more within their intended working range, which will eliminate the unusual amount of degradation that some teams have experienced."
