While the main aim of Tuesday's 12-hour test session at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi is to run the rule over the new-for-2016 ultra-soft compound, Pirelli is also looking at again increasing the number of pit stops.

The level has often fallen below the brief of a minimum of two per driver over the past two years, primarily due to Pirelli taking a back seat to allow the teams to focus on the turbocharged hybrid power unit following its introduction at the start of 2014.

p4The ultra-soft tire will play a part in changing things for 2016, but Pirelli and Hembery would ideally like to go further to spice up the show, with the feeling being that tires that dramatically drop off in performance is the way to go. Pirelli, however, has only the test at Yas Marina to find a solution, otherwise it may have to be put on the backburner until 2017.

"We would have liked more pit stops this season, but that is not something we can change without quite extensive testing," said Hembery. "While the ultra-soft next year will give us more options for certain races, it's not going to dramatically change the scene. That's something we need to look at for '17.

"We've one shot for next season, and we don't know if it will work the way we want it to, but we are trying to bring back a 'cliff' into it. While it may create more pit stops, what we don't know is if it will create any differences in strategy, which is the ideal solution. So we're looking at it, and we've a couple of concepts we'll be testing, but it's very hard to get that right with only one test session."

The primary concern for Pirelli is ensuring the ultra-soft tire works, with four variants overall to be tested as it tries to find the best solution.

"The ultra-soft is the real priority," added Hembery. "We've four different proposals for the ultra-soft, but it will be completely blind for the teams so they won't know what we are looking at.

"The circuit is quite ideal because it offers a smooth surface, and traction is important, so we'll be testing against references of what we used in the race [soft and super-soft]. Ideally, we want something that will give us a qualifying tire in some races.

"It will be something that if chosen by the teams they could take an aggressive start to a race strategy, so let's see what the results are like. We believe we'll have something after the test, although it might be too early to say. What I can say is there will be definitely be an ultra-soft tire in 2016."