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THE ROAD TO
POLE
* Charles Leclerc led a Ferrari one-two in qualifying, with all the cars
using the P Zero Red soft tyre from start to finish of the session. Leclerc
set the inaugural fastest lap record for the new Miami circuit in Q3:
1m28.796s. This was extremely close to the predicted pole time using
simulation data.
* The qualifying hour got underway at 4pm in ambient temperatures of 39
degrees and track temperatures of 58 degrees: similar conditions to FP3
earlier today, where Red Bull’s Sergio Perez went fastest (also on the soft
tyre).
* The tyres performed in line with expectations throughout the short runs
seen in qualifying, despite the extreme weather conditions at the hottest
weekend seen so far this year. Because of traffic and the rapid track
evolution, many drivers chose to complete multiple runs on the same set of
tyres, with no drop-off in performance.
* The Pirelli Pole Position Award was given out by Hollywood actor Michael
Douglas, one of many celebrities in attendance at the most glamorous grand
prix of the year to date. Douglas, a two-time Oscar winner, is a well-known
Formula 1 supporter who has starred in many films that sound appropriate for
this weekend – such as Made in America, Traffic, and Wall Street. |
STRATEGY
NOTEBOOK:
Strategy is a really tough one to call for a number of reasons: there’s no
previous race data, every practice session so far has been interrupted by
red flags, and the weather ranges between extremely hot and very humid, on a
track surface that is still evolving. It’s likely to be a two-stopper
tomorrow (with a one-stopper looking marginal) and what’s mainly going to
influence that is the amount of tyre wear on race day. With several drivers
having visited the wall already, not much run-off, and very little grip
off-line, it also seems likely that we will see a safety car at some point.
Drivers no longer have the obligation to start on the tyres with which they
set their fastest Q2 time, so the most flexible option will be to begin on
the medium and then go onto the hard, which leaves the possibility open for
a final stint on the medium again, or even the soft tyre if the last stop is
close enough to the end of the race.
MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING
“It was a tightly-fought qualifying session where we saw the grip recovery
concept that we have built into the tyres come to the fore: namely, the
ability of the tyres to complete a number of push laps before a cool-down
period, and then be able to push again with all the grip recovered and no
loss of performance. This was particularly evident in Ferrari’s qualifying
strategy, where Leclerc completed three runs in Q1 on the same set of tyres
while Sainz completed four. They then did three runs each in Q2 and two runs
in Q3: in some of the hottest track temperatures that we have seen all year.
Strategy tomorrow is not straightforward, but it looks as though a
two-stopper will be the quickest way to go, with all three compounds
potentially playing an important role.” |
