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FRIDAY TYRE SUMMARY
* Red Bull drivers were fastest in both hour-long free practice sessions
today, with Max Verstappen topping FP1 and Sergio Perez going even faster in
FP2: on each occasion using the softest tyre in Pirelli’s Formula 1 range.
This comes to Baku for the very first time as the P Zero Red soft (C5) this
weekend.
* Perez’s best FP2 time (1m42.115s) was more than half a second quicker than
the best FP2 time in 2019, when the race was last run. On that occasion, the
tyre nomination was a step harder.
* With the Azerbaijan Grand Prix held more than a month later compared to
2019 the weather was extremely warm all day, with ambient temperatures of
around 30 degrees and track temperatures that peaked at 50 degrees in the
afternoon (16 degrees more than FP2 in 2019).
* The teams concentrated mainly on the P Zero Yellow medium and P Zero Red
soft, with more limited running on the P Zero White hard.
* From the estimated simulation data, the performance gap between the hard
and medium tyre is approximately 0.6 seconds per lap, while the gap between
medium and soft is around 0.8 seconds per lap.
MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF CAR RACING
“As expected, we had a slippery surface at the start of the day, with quite
rapid track evolution. It was a hot day in Baku with asphalt temperatures in
excess of 50 degrees centigrade, but that doesn’t tell the full story as
there’s so much light and shade on this city circuit that the track
temperature in reality can be very varied, leading to changeable grip
levels. Getting used to that, as well as balancing the grip between the
front and rear axles and working out which compound – soft or medium – will
be the optimal choice to start the race with were the main jobs today,
throughout a demanding free practice that was also influenced by both yellow
and red flags. This isn’t an easy track to get to grips with and the surface
is still evolving, so there is plenty for the teams to analyse before
qualifying, with just a bit of graining seen on the softer compounds in
these high temperatures so far. As it’s the first time that we’re here with
the very softest tyres in the range the performance gaps are very much an
estimate, but all three compounds are set to play a strong role.” |
TOP 3 TIMES
FP1
Verstappen 1m43.184s SOFT C5 NEW
Leclerc 1m43.227s SOFT C5 NEW
Sainz 1m43.521s SOFT C5 NEW
FP2
Perez 1m42.115s SOFT C5 NEW
Verstappen 1m42.216s SOFT C5 NEW
Sainz 1m42.243s SOFT C5 NEW
BEST TIME BY COMPOUND
FP1
HARD C3 Alonso 1m45.619s
MEDIUM C4 Verstappen 1m44.098s
SOFT C5 Verstappen 1m43.184s
FP2
HARD C3 Stroll 1m45.281s
MEDIUM C4 Sainz 1m43.162s
SOFT C5 Perez 1m42.115s
MOST LAPS BY COMPOUND SO FAR
COMPOUND DRIVER LAPS
HARD C3 Ocon 16
MEDIUM C4 Leclerc 18
SOFT C5 Giovinazzi 19
TYRE STATISTICS OF THE DAY
HARD MEDIUM SOFT
Kms driven* 510 2227 2449
Sets used overall** 8 33 39
* The above number gives the total amount of kilometres
driven in FP1 and FP2 today, all drivers combined.
** Per compound, all drivers combined.
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