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THE RACE TYRE
STORY
* The British Grand Prix was won by Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz from pole –
but that only tells half the story. The race was restarted after a red flag
on lap one, with all but two drivers (McLaren’s Lando Norris and Daniel
Ricciardo) changing tyres.
* The timing of a safety car in the closing stages of the race was another
pivotal moment. It came at just the right time for Red Bull’s Sergio Perez,
who recovered to second place after a poor start, but disadvantaged
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who stayed out on well-used P Zero White hard
tyres and slipped down to fourth. Leclerc was in the lead at the re-start,
but was passed by Sainz, Perez, and Hamilton on new P Zero Red soft tyres in
the closing stages.
* All three compounds played a key role, with hard, P Zero Yellow medium,
and soft seen on the original starting grid. There were three different
strategies used by the top four, contributing to some breath-taking battles
all the way down the field.
* Among those duels was a fight that went down to the last corner for
seventh place between Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Haas driver Mick
Schumacher – with the latter scoring his first Formula 1 world championship
points today.
HOW THE COMPOUNDS MADE THE DIFFERENCE
HARD: A very durable tyre that was capable of long stints; harder to warm up
in the relatively cool conditions today with around 20 degrees centigrade
ambient and just over 30 degrees on track. Once it had reached its operating
window, the hard tyre was very consistent.
MEDIUM: The main tyre for the race, chosen by the majority of the drivers
who took the restart on lap two. It blended performance with durability,
with Perez completing 34 laps on it for the bulk of the race: a key
ingredient to his impressive fightback.
SOFT: Verstappen used the extra speed of this compound to power past Sainz
at the original start; it then came into its own after the safety car as
most drivers selected it for a final sprint to the finish. Hamilton claimed
fastest lap with the soft, using it to seal an emotional podium at his home
race.
MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING
“First and most importantly, we are all incredibly relieved and grateful
that the drivers involved in the scary first-lap crash are OK: a testament
to the incredible safety standards in the sport. After then, we saw one of
the most thrilling races in recent memory, with battles all the way down the
field and tyre strategy providing a key element. For anyone still asking if
the 2022 new package of cars and tyres has improved the show and helped
overtaking – here is your answer!” |
