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THE DAY ON
TRACK:
The race was run in the highest temperatures seen all weekend, the track
being at 52 °C at the start, dropping to 45 °C at the end. As expected,
almost all the drivers chose to start on the Medium tyre, the exceptions
being Ocon (Hard), Albon (Hard) and Norris (Soft). Once the race had settled
down after the battles shortly after the start, the first part of the race
saw the drivers play close attention to managing their tyres and cars. This
applied to those who had definitely opted for a one-stop race as well as
those keeping their options open to go for a two-stop, especially among the
leaders. The Safety Car and the red flag that followed because of
Magnussen’s crash, made it more complicated to determine which would be the
quickest strategy, also because the race was now practically divided into
two parts. The track condition improved significantly compared to the start
of the weekend and this meant that the graining effect diminished
progressively.
MARIO ISOLA - MOTORSPORT DIRECTOR
“As always, since Formula 1 returned to Mexico, the atmosphere at this race
was amazing, despite the premature retirement of crowd favourite Sergio
Perez. On the tyre front, we saw how track evolution and higher temperatures
led to the C4 emerging as the most effective compound overall. That was
particularly evident after the restart when those who went for the
aggressive choice of fitting the Medium, were able to make the most of it
when they could attack with it, without the lap times dropping off towards
the end, as we saw with Hamilton and Norris for example. Verstappen’s
superiority meant he could choose what he wanted to do in terms of stops and
the Safety Car meant he made his second pit stop without losing position,
given that his rivals were just making their scheduled stops. As is often
the case with a driver on top form, luck seems to want to help him out still
further.”
COMING UP
NEXT FOR OUR F1 TYRES
The Sao Paulo Grand Prix takes place from 3 to 5 November at the famous
Interlagos circuit. There the teams will have the choice of the following
compounds: the C2 as P Zero White hard, the C3 as P Zero Yellow medium and
the C4 as P Zero Red soft. The Brazilian weekend is also the final one of
the season run to the Sprint format with qualifying for the race on Friday
afternoon and Saturday given over entirely to the Shootout and Sprint. |
