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THE RACE TYRE
STORY
* Red Bull driver Max Verstappen used a three-stop strategy and went from
second on the grid to race victory and the championship lead. He alternated
between the P Zero Red soft tyre (with which he started the race) and the P
Zero Yellow medium, on which he finished it.
* His team mate Sergio Perez and Mercedes driver George Russell, who also
finished on the podium, both used a different three-stop strategy:
soft-medium-medium-soft.
* Everyone chose to start on the P Zero Red soft tyre, with the exception of
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who selected the P Zero Yellow medium.
Having dropped to the back of the field following contact on the opening
lap, Hamilton climbed back to fourth overall thanks to a three-stop strategy
– with his first stop after lap one, making it effectively a two-stopper.
* Valtteri Bottas was the highest-placed actual two-stopper, in P6. Just
four of the finishers stopped twice, with three different strategies in
play.
* Ambient and track temperatures were the highest they had been all weekend
today, peaking at 51 degrees centigrade on track. Despite these punishing
conditions, the drivers favoured the soft and medium compounds.
HOW THE COMPOUNDS MADE THE DIFFERENCE
HARD C1: The hardest tyre in the range was considered to be too slow
compared to the other options today. Only Haas driver Kevin Magnussen used
it, for a long final stint. However, comparing his times to equivalent cars
on the medium tyre, the lap times were actually not dissimilar.
MEDIUM C2: The key compound to this race, capable of completing long stints
without compromising performance. However, Hamilton was the only driver to
choose it for the start.
SOFT C3: The revelation of the race, which offered a strong resistance to
the high energy and thermal demands of Barcelona today while delivering a
notable pace advantage. The soft also claimed fastest lap in the hands of
Perez.
MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING
“This was certainly one of the biggest tests that our new 18-inch tyres have
faced all year, thanks to a high-energy circuit with big degradation
expected and track temperatures that exceeded 50 degrees centigrade. We can
say now that they coped with the challenge very well, and what makes their
performance even more impressive is that the drivers concentrated on just
the softer tyres nominated here. In particular, the soft tyre was a
revelation, with nearly all the drivers choosing it for the start and many
of them running the soft for the bulk of the race. There was a wide variety
of strategies seen throughout the field, with drivers willing to push the
limits and target three stops, adding to the spectacle of an extremely
hard-fought race: also because these cars make it easier to overtake.
Congratulations to Red Bull for a decisive one-two; now we move on to a very
different challenge in Monaco next weekend.” |
