All articles tagged with #tyre strategy
The first day of practice for the 2025 Mexican Grand Prix revealed mixed performances among F1 teams, with Red Bull's Verstappen showing strong qualifying pace but struggles on long runs, while McLaren's Norris faced handling issues. Grip levels were low, affecting consistency and lap times, and teams are expected to make balance adjustments as the weekend progresses.
The 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez features a rich history, unique high-speed challenges due to altitude, and strategic tyre considerations, with Max Verstappen leading the championship race and a close midfield battle. The event includes practice sessions from October 24-26, with notable stats like a lap record of 1m 17.774s and a 43% safety car probability, emphasizing the race's high-speed nature and strategic complexity.
Pirelli's planned tyre strategy experiment for the Belgian Grand Prix, which involved using a different hard tyre compound to encourage varied race strategies, faces potential disruption due to forecasted heavy rain, complicating the team's efforts to introduce unpredictability and challenge the typical one-stop race approach.
The British GP at Silverstone faces unpredictable weather, with cold temperatures impacting tyre strategies. Teams are likely to favor a two-stop approach due to high tyre wear from graining, especially with limited hard tyres. Cooler conditions reduce thermal degradation but increase mechanical stress, particularly on the front-left tyre. Rain could further complicate strategies, potentially favoring starting on medium tyres if wet conditions persist, but the race's outcome remains uncertain due to the weather.
The Monaco Grand Prix has become less exciting due to the increased size of F1 cars and limited overtaking opportunities. While track modifications have been suggested, a simpler solution proposed by drivers like George Russell and Lewis Hamilton is to use only soft tyres for the race. This would force multiple pit stops and create varied strategies, potentially making the race more thrilling without the need for expensive track changes.
The Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka is expected to be challenging for teams due to high track temperatures and a decrease in grip compared to last year. Only eight drivers have two sets of hard tires available, while the rest have a combination of mediums and softs. McLaren could benefit from their double hard tire allocation, potentially giving them a tactical advantage against Red Bull. Mercedes and Ferrari are in a battle for second place in the constructors' championship, with Mercedes looking to exploit their tire advantage. The tire strategy offset could play a crucial role in the outcome of the race.
George Russell believes Mercedes has an advantage in the Singapore Grand Prix due to their tyre strategy, with an extra set of medium tyres that no one else has. He feels confident in the car and believes they can challenge for their first win of the season. Meanwhile, pole-sitter Carlos Sainz acknowledges Ferrari's weakness in race pace but believes they have made progress and can still target the win. Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth after a challenging session in the intense Singapore heat.
Fernando Alonso had a chance to win the Monaco Grand Prix if Aston Martin had fitted intermediate wet-weather tyres to his car on Lap 54 instead of slick medium-compound tyres. Although the team realized its mistake a lap later, Alonso emerged still in second place but 22 seconds behind Verstappen. The lap times suggest that Alonso would have easily found the nine seconds he needed by switching to intermediates on Lap 54. However, Aston Martin defended its decision, citing the changing track conditions and the weather forecast.