The tyres available for these two groups were also different and while the rookies ran the same 2024 compounds that were available for last weekend’s Grand Prix, in the other cars, those driving were able to assess the homologated compounds that Pirelli will supply next season, having developed them in conjunction with the teams over the past year. The one absentee was the C1 tyre, as it is not suited to this track.

Each young driver had eight sets of tyres available: two C3, four C4 and two C5. Other drivers had ten sets to use: one C2, three each of C3 and C4, two C5 and one C6, the latter being the new ultra-soft compound which is an addition to the 2025 range, aimed one expects for use at some street circuits. Unlike the “in-competition test” run at the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend, Pirelli did not set out a standard programme for how the 2025 tyres should be used, leaving the teams free to run them as they saw fit, in order to gather vital data for the development of next year’s cars. Finally, as decreed by the FIA, no car was allowed to carry any components that had not been used during a race weekend.

There were nine very busy hours of testing, with just one short interruption towards the end. A total of 2,578 laps were completed, equivalent to 13,614.418 kilometres. All compounds and types of tyre were used: indeed some teams even ran rain tyres or intermediates for their installation laps and when carrying out aerodynamic measurements, which are usually carried out at the start of the day.

Topping the time sheet overall was Charles Leclerc who took his Ferrari round in 1’23”510. Second was Williams’ new signing, Carlos Sainz (1’23”635) while George Russell was third for Mercedes in 1’23”789. While the now former Ferrari team-mates set their best times on the C5, Russell did his with the C6. Of the rookies, the quickest was Italy’s Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) with a time of 1’23”873. The three drivers who put in the most laps were Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls, 159), Carlos Sainz (Williams, 146) and Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin, 146).

“This was a very useful test, being able to see the entire new range of compounds that have been homologated for next season in use, with the exception of the C1,” commented Mario Isola, Pirelli Motorsport Director. “Track conditions were very good, very similar to those experienced last Sunday during the final Grand Prix and with not too dissimilar temperatures. We gathered a lot of data which will now be analysed very carefully by our engineers and those from the teams to continue to prepare as thoroughly as possible for next season. From a first preliminary analysis, we can say that the new compounds have proved to offer greater mechanical resistance, which therefore leads to a reduction in the level of abrasion on the tread. As for overheating, we knew it would be difficult to see significant improvements, as we ran almost entirely in sunny conditions, unlike over the race weekend. Another important topic was to check the positioning of the compounds within the 2025 range: from what we saw today, we can say that the difference in performance between the C2, C3, C4 and C5 is more in line with our goals, namely to have a gap of around half a second in between each of them. As for the brand new C6, we saw on this track, with its very demanding final section, especially in terms of traction, that degradation even on a first flying lap is quite pronounced. Now we will carry out a careful analysis of the data to identify which tracks will be best suited to its possible use on a race weekend.”

That brings the 2024 season to an end, and Pirelli’s Formula 1 team will be back on track at the end of January in Magny Cours for the first test session of the year, working on development of the 2026 tyres.

For Norris it was career win number 4, while it is McLaren’s 189^th from 970 Grands Prix entered. Piastri avoided being lapped by his team-mate and is thus the only driver this season to have completed 100% of the total laps (1444) and kilometres (7314) of the 24 Grands Prix this season.

Ferrari finished second in the Constructors’ championship, with the most podium finishes (22) of the season, ahead of McLaren and Red Bull with 21 apiece.

Kevin Magnussen, who drove his last Formula 1 race today, set the fastest lap, the third time he has done so, following on from Singapore 2018 and 2019, all at the wheel of a Haas.

Red Bull finished the season third in the Constructors’ standings. It is the first time since 1983 that the team that took the Drivers’ title finished outside the top two in the Constructors’: on that occasion, Nelson Piquet was champion and his Brabham team finished third.

THE DAY ON TRACK   

On the starting grid, 19 of the 20 drivers were on the Medium with only Hamilton opting for the Hard. The one-stop strategy proved to be quickest: of the top ten finishers, only Fernando Alonso (eighth for Aston Martin) made a two-stop work. Piastri also pitted twice but that was as a result of a collision with Verstappen at the first corner on the opening lap.

The longest stint overall was delivered by two specialists in this field, namely Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg, who did 45 laps on a set of Hards. As for the Medium, the prize goes to Max Verstappen, who split his race exactly in two, doing 29 laps on the C4 followed by the same number on the C3.

The C5’s appearance in the race came courtesy of Magnussen, who clearly only fitted it in order to set the fastest race lap, which he did both on his first set, used for a total of 25 laps and then on the second, fitted just for the last two laps.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“First and foremost, congratulations to McLaren on winning the Constructors’ title and well done too to Ferrari for having pushed them all the way to the very end, which made for a very exciting finale, full of suspense to really entertain the fans.

“It was the best way possible to end a very busy season, the longest ever in Formula 1 history. For our part, we believe we met the expectations of the teams and the other major players in this sport, the FIA and Formula 1, who are our most important “customers”. We did it by providing a reliable and high-performance product, which also delivered the desired effect of unpredictable racing. In fact, it’s no coincidence that this season has been. Well balanced between races where a one-stop strategy worked best and those where a two-stop was more effective, thus meeting the objectives we had been set.

“As for today’s race, we saw less graining than during Friday free practice, and even then it had little impact on performance. Degradation was also very limited, so much so that the one-stop was clearly the most effective strategy, even with many different divisions of stint lengths. Verstappen for example stopped at exactly half-distance, while others like Gasly and Hulkenberg stopped very early and then managed to finish in the points. We still have one more task to complete this year. This coming Tuesday, we will be back on track here at Yas Marina for a very important collective test. All the teams will be able to evaluate five of the six compounds homologated for 2025, the exception being the C1 which is not suited to this track. Furthermore, we will be supplying 2024 tyres for the usual rookie end of season test.”

Gabriel Bortoleto is the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Champion. The Brazilian, who makes his Formula 1 debut next year with Sauber, took the title in his debut season in the category, repeating his achievement last year in Formula 3. Bortoleto’s second place in today’s race means his Invicta Racing team has taken the teams’ title. The race was won by Paraguay’s Joshua Durksen (Aix Racing) with Dutchman Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport) third.

The final round of the second F1 Academy season exceptionally had three races, making up for the one that had to be cancelled last week in Qatar. Abbi Pulling put the title to bed as early as Friday qualifying by taking the points for pole position for all three races, putting the total out of reach of her only rival, Doriane Pin.

The Englishwoman, driving for the Alpine team went on to win the first and second races and finished second in the third one; an amazing season in which she scored 338 points, always finishing on the podium. She had nine wins, four second places and one third. The French Mercedes drivers was second on 215 points, with three wins, while third in the standings was the Dutchwoman Maya Weug (Ferrari) on 177 points, with one win, secured today at Yas Marina. The teams’ title went to Prema Racing on 423 points. 

COMING UP NEXT FOR OUR TYRES

All ten teams will stay on at the Yas Marina circuit for a very busy group test on Tuesday 10 December. They will each field two cars: one for a rookie, defined in the FIA sporting regulations as a driver who has taken part in no more than two Grands Prix and the other car for another driver. The two groups will run very different tyres: the rookies will have the same 2024 compounds as selected for this Grand Prix, while the regular or official drivers will run the homologated versions of all Pirelli’s 2025 tyres, developed over the year with the teams, with the exception of the C1 which is not suited to this track.

The rookies will have eight sets of tyres each: two C3, four C4 and two C5. The other drivers will have ten sets: one C2, three each of the C3 and C4, two C5 and one C6, the latter being the new ultra-soft compound which thus extends the 2025 range. It is expected that this compound will be used at some street circuits next year. Unlike the in-competition test run at the Mexico City Grand Prix, this time Pirelli will not set out its own run programme for the 2025 tyres. Therefore, each team can work as it sees fit to collect data that will be vital to car development for next year. Furthermore, no cars are allowed to run components that have nnot been used in a race weekend. For this test, the C2 and C6 will feature just the Pirelli logo coloured white and red respectively, while the C3, C4 and C5 will run the usual white, yellow and red bands respectively, alongside the logo.

There are two Ferrari power units on the second row, the one fitted to Carlos Sainz’s car, his time of 1’22”824 just 20 thousandths off Piastri’s and the other in the back of Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas (1’22”886).

This was Norris’ ninth pole: his first came in Sochi in 2021 and the remaining eight were all this season. The Englishman and Max Verstappen therefore top the list for the most poles this year, but it’s the Dutchman who tomorrow will receive the 2024 Pole Position of the Year Award thanks to his additional three poles in Sprint Qualifying, compared to two for Norris.

Norris was presented with the Pirelli Pole Position Award by Terry Crews. The former American Football player is now a successful actor. In the comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine he plays the role of the Lieutenant of the detective squad and he also appeared in all the films in “The Expendables” series. The actor has promoted the #MeToo movement and, 2017, was nominated as one of the “silence breakers” who were given the “Person of the Year” award by Time magazine.

THE DAY ON TRACK 

The C3 made its first appearance of the weekend during the third free practice session. The compound chosen as the Hard was used by the two Racing Bulls drivers, Yuki Tsunoda completing 9 laps and Liam Lawson 10 and by the Aston Martin pair, but in this case Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll just went through their usual scrubbing-in procedure. The green team drivers also did the same with a set of Mediums, as did Lewis Hamilton and George Russell for Mercedes. The C4 was also used by Carlos Sainz (13 laps) and Max Verstappen (9 laps) while all the other drivers only ran the Soft, this compound being the only used throughout qualifying.

MARIO ISOLA - PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“A very close qualifying, the closest of the year, given that in Q1 just 803 thousandths of a second covered all 20 drivers: only in Zeltweg was there a smaller gap from first to last (0”798) but that was on a track that is 963 metres shorter than this one. The close contest pushed the drivers to make the most of the Soft, which while delivering very good performance, only did so on the first flying lap. The track conditions were more or less stable throughout the sixty minutes of qualifying, so what made the difference was mainly the difference in grip levels between a new set and a used one, even if they had only done one timed lap. 

“Regarding strategy for tomorrow’s race, a single stop, running the Medium and then the Hard is, on paper, the fastest choice, with a pit stop window between laps 18 and 24. Those starting further back might want to extend a first stint on the Hard, pitting between laps 29 and 35. There are however three factors that could open the door to a two-stop race: possibly greater degradation than we have seen so far, a neutralisation, or more plausible, drivers who find themselves in traffic deciding to pit early to try and exploit the clear advantage of having a new set of tyres for the first few laps after the stop. This could trigger a chain reaction, leading teams to switch to a two-stop strategy. That was the case last year, when all the teams with the exception of the Racing Bulls had kept two sets of new Hards.”

Obviously the Medium tyre was the only choice for all 23 drivers (Kimi Antonelli did not take part) in the final Sprint race of the season. The yellow banded tyre provided good overall grip and an acceptable level of thermal degradation, which was more accentuated on the rear, but still manageable over the Sprint race distance. The win went to Spain’s Josep Maria Marti (Campos Racing) ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto (Invicta Racing) and Paul Aron (Hitech Pulse-Eight), while the third contender for the 2024 title, Isack Hadjar (Campos Racing), finished sixth. This result means that only Bortoleto or Hadjar can be crowned champion, currently separated by 5.5 points.

THE DAY ON TRACK

There were no fewer than six young drivers on track for the first session: Arthur Leclerc for Ferrari, Felipe Drugovich for Aston Martin, Ryo Hirakawa for McLaren, Isack Hadjar for Red Bull, Luke Browning for Williams and Ayumu Iwasa for Racing Bulls. Fastest of this group was the Brazilian Drugovich, ninth overall in 1’25”471.

Today’s lap times were considerably quicker than those from free practice last year, proof of the progress made in performance terms with these cars over the past twelve months, given that the tyre base line has remained the same: 1”751 the difference for FP1, 1’292 for FP2.

SIMONE BERRA – CHIEF ENGINEER

“The final round of the season said something about how much quicker the cars have become in the space of a year. The improvement in performance is significant when one considers that parameters such as the track and the tyres have remained unchanged. That can be seen from the fact that today’s best time is already 72 thousandths faster than Verstappen’s pole time of last year (1’23”445).

“The other important data concerns the use of the compounds. For the fourth time this season, after Sakhir, Melbourne and Las Vegas, no driver used the Hard tyre over the two hours of Friday free practice. It’s a clear indication of how the C3 is definitely considered the main tyre for Sunday’s race by the teams. Furthermore, we saw that most of the drivers who did a long run, opted for the Medium. One can therefore begin to draw the conclusion that a one-stop strategy, using one set of Medium and one of Hard, must be favourite, with the second set of Hards on hand in case of a Safety Car or if degradation is greater than expected.

“Other interesting aspect from today are graining, which varied from team to team, but not in a particular impactful way, especially as degradation is also quite low, and then the track evolution, significant in FP1 before settling down in FP2.”

Victor Martins will start the final Feature Race of the season from pole position. The Frenchman was 55 thousandths faster than championship leader, Brazil’s Gabriel Bortoleto, who outqualified his other two rivals in the classification, Estonia’s Paul Aron, third, 68 thousandths off Martins and France’s Isack Hadjar (fourth at 0”128). This weekend will decide the outcome of both the Drivers’ and Teams’ championships for 2024, both with three contenders. They will be able to choose from a different pair of compounds to those used last year. an additional challenge for the drivers and engineers to deal with as they try and get the most out of the Supersoft and the Medium over the various stages of the weekend. Along with the organisers, the decision was taken to create this bigger gap between the two compounds, compared to last year’s Soft and Medium selection in order to make the choice of specification for the start of the Feature Race even more of a factor. Although the Supersoft will be subject to significant degradation, it will offer a considerable performance advantage over the opening laps. On paper, the fastest strategy involves lining up on the grid with the Medium to go for the longest possible first stint, but any possible Safety Car period in the early stages would put those who have gone with the opposite choice a good chance.

Having secured three pole positions, Abbi Pulling (Alpine-Rodin Motorsport) can once again celebrate winning the 2024 F1 Academy championship. Albeit by the smallest of margins, her only rival Doriane Pin (Mercedes-Prema Racing) can no longer catch her. The addition of a third race in Abu Dhabi, to make up for the one cancelled last Sunday in Lusail had actually put the title for the all-women series back into play. However, today Pulling did not delay in confirming her superiority, setting the three fastest laps of the qualifying session, the best being a 1’56”081, thus picking up the points for securing pole for tomorrow’s two races and the third one on Sunday. Chloe Chambers for Haas-Campos Racing (1’56’’201) will be alongside Pullin on the grid for race 1, and waiting for the lights to go out from row two will be Hamda Al Qubaisi (Red Bull Racing-MP Motorsport) and Bianca Bustamante (McLaren-ART Grand Prix). The new F1 Academy champion was presented with her Pirelli Pole Position Award tonight by content creator Tuesday Le Roux.

As has long been the case at this track, Pirelli has chosen its three softest compounds for the event, with the C3 as Hard, the C4 as Medium and the C5 as Soft. The red-banded tyres will most probably only feature in qualifying, while the Medium and Hard will be under the spotlight, in every sense of the word, given this is the third consecutive night race.

Thanks to significant changes to the track layout introduced in 2021, the 5.281 kilometre track is much faster and flowing, with several overtaking opportunities. In general, the forces exerted on the tyres are in the medium to low range, because of the lack of high speed corners. The surface offers little grip and its level of abrasiveness is average for the season. Temperatures will play an important role, with two of the three free practice sessions taking place in daylight, while FP2 and the race get underway at sunset with all of qualifying taking place at night. Therefore, track conditions can change quickly as temperatures drop and they will also evolve rapidly as the track rubbers in, especially on the first two days, helped by the fact there are three support categories on the card this weekend – F4 UAE, F1 Academy and F2.

On a track where graining could have a significant impact and where, as previously mentioned, overtaking is possible, a two-stop strategy certainly seems preferable, as indeed was the case last year. Furthermore, the undercut is very effective and, in order for a one-stop to work, it requires a great deal of tyre management to limit performance drop off.

The most successful driver at Abu Dhabi is Lewis Hamilton with five wins to his name. Max Verstappen could equal that number on Sunday as he has already won here four times in a row, from 2020 to 2023. Prior to Sunday’s race, the Dutchman will be presented with the Pirelli Pole Position Award of the Year, for securing the most poles this season. As for the teams, Red Bull leads the way on seven wins here, ahead of Mercedes on 6. Only two other teams have won in Abu Dhabi: Lotus with Kimi Raikkonen in 2013 and McLaren with Hamilton in the inaugural event in 2009.

Sunday night marks the end of racing for 2024 but not the end of track action. All ten teams will stay on at the Yas Marina circuit for a very busy group test on Tuesday 10 December. They will each field two cars: one for a rookie, defined in the FIA sporting regulations as a driver who has taken part in no more than two Grands Prix and the other car for another driver. The two groups will run different tyres: the rookies will have the same 2024 compounds as selected for this Grand Prix, while the regular or official drivers will run the homologated versions of all Pirelli’s 2025 tyres, developed over the year with the teams, with the exception of the C1 which is not suited to this track.

The rookies will have eight sets of tyres each: two C3, four C4 and two C5. The other drivers will have ten sets: one C2, three each of the C3 and C4, two C5 and one C6, the latter being the new ultra-soft compound which thus extends the 2025 range. It is expected that this compound will be used at some street circuits next year. Unlike the in-competition test run at the Mexico City Grand Prix, this time Pirelli will not set out its own run programme for the 2025 tyres. Therefore, each team can work as it sees fit to collect data that will be vital to car development for next year. For this test, the C2 and C6 will feature just the Pirelli logo coloured white and red respectively, while the C3, C4 and C5 will run the usual white, yellow and red bands respectively, alongside the logo.

This was the 63^rd win of Verstappen’s career, the second out of three editions of this Grand Prix, while for Red Bull it was win number 122. Piastri took his tenth podium finish today from 45 race starts. 

THE DAY ON TRACK   

All the drivers opted to start on the Medium tyre with the exception of Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) who went for the Hard. As expected, the one-stop was the preferred choice for all teams. Apart from those drivers involved in collisions on the opening lap, who had to pit immediately, everyone tried to extend the first stint on the Mediums as much as possible, getting to over half-distance. There were a few exceptions: George Russell (Mercedes) pitted after 23 laps, Valtteri Bottas switched to the Hard on the following lap and Kevin Magnussen (Haas), pitting after 27 laps. For the rest of the field, the run of pit stops began on lap 34, some coming in when the race was neutralised, to switch to the Hard tyre. Hulkenberg had already pitted to take on Mediums after lap 30. 

The Safety Car made three appearances. At the last two, the chance to pit costing less time, induced Williams and Racing Bulls to gamble on the Soft, but it did not pay off, as the characteristics of this track meant the C3 proved to have too much of a drop in performance.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“As expected, this was a very busy weekend for us. In today’s race there were two front left tyre punctures on Sainz’s and Hamilton’s cars. As per procedure, we will now analyse in detail the damaged tyres, as well as a selection of other tyres. Along with the telemetry data we have acquired and on-board footage from the cars, they will be sent to our laboratory in Milan. In addition, we will carry out all the usual checks on the stresses to which the tyres were subjected.

This track has some rather peculiar characteristics: it is very severe in terms of the energy exerted on the tyres and in terms of tread wear, while not leading to a drop in performance. Clearly, this combination of factors can create a situation in which wear levels reach their limit, while the teams however try to lengthen the stint as much as possible in order to get the best possible result and we saw that confirmed today.

In yesterday’s Sprint, in some cases the level of wear had reached 100% on cars that had started with about one third the fuel load they took on board for today’s start. At this track, the left front is the tyre subjected to the greatest load and it’s no coincidence that both punctures were on this tyre. When you reach a certain level, then even the smallest piece of debris can cause a situation like the one we witnessed today.

As for the rest, the performance levels of the most used compounds – the C1 and the C2 – were very similar and, as mentioned earlier, with hardly any degradation. Therefore, the level of tyre management required was practically zero, with the drivers able to push as much as they liked, even though they were in fact running a one-stop strategy.”

The 2024 drivers’ title will go down to the wire at the final round in Abu Dhabi, with the two leaders, Gabriel Bortoleto (Invicta Racing) and Isack Hadjar (Campos Racing), separated by just half a point (188.5 for the Brazilian and 188 for the Frenchman). Today, they both finished on the podium in third and second places respectively. Ahead of them, the winner was Estonia’s Paul Aron (Hitech Pulse-Eight) for whom this was his maiden victory in the category. 

As for the tyres, the Medium-Hard strategy was the most successful. Those who opted to go the other way round, for example Oliver Bearman (Prema Racing), who was leading up until the last two laps, were penalised by the many neutralisations, which meant that many of the drivers who had started on the Medium, were able to minimise time lost during their pit stop. The difference in warm-up and degradation between the compounds produced a spectacular race with plenty of overtaking.

With no parc ferme between the Sprint and Qualifying, the teams were all able to modify their set-up and car configuration to improve performance. This appeared to alter the hierarchy, with Red Bull back in front. Eighth in the Sprint, his worst ever result in the short race format, Max Verstappen secured pole position for tomorrow’s Grand Prix, beating Russell right at the end by, just 55 thousandths of a second: 1’20”520 for the Dutchman and 1’20”575 for the Englishman. The Red Bull driver was later given a one place grid penalty for having been deemed by the Stewards to have driven unnecessarily slowly on a cool down lap in Q3. Max therefore stays on the front row, but it’s Russell who will start from pole. The McLaren duo had to settle for the second row with Norris ahead of Piastri, both of them ahead of their direct rivals Ferrari in the fight for the Constructors’ title, with Charles Leclerc starting fifth and Carlos Sainz seventh, Lewis Hamilton splitting them in sixth.

This was Verstappen’s first pole position since the Austrian Grand Prix and it ensures that he tops the table for poles this season, with nine, as in second place on seven, Norris can no longer beat him. The four time world champion will receive the 2024 Pirelli Pole Position of the Year Award, next Sunday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Tonight’s pole was Max’s 41^st, and Red Bull Racing’s 105^th. 

THE DAY ON TRACK 

For the Sprint race, 19 of the 20 drivers started on the Medium, the one exception being Guanyu Zhou who lined up on the Softs, before switching to the C2 after 10 laps. Starting from pit lane, Franco Colapinto was the only driver to use a completely new set, while Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were on sets that had only done one scrubbing-in lap in yesterday’s FP1.

For qualifying, all drivers used the Soft. The only yellow mark in the graph that shows the compounds used in each session came courtesy of George Russell who, at the start of Q1, imitated what the Ferrari duo had done the previous day, scrubbing in a set of C2s.

The Pirelli Pole Position Awards was presented to Verstappen by Qatari high jumper Mutaz Barshim, a three-time world champion (London 2017, Doha 2019 and Eugene 2022). He also won gold in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, sharing the honour with Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi. The “Qatari Falcon” as Mutaz is known, has three other Olympic medals to his name: silver in London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and a bronze in Paris in 2024. His personal best is 2.43 metres, an Asian record in this discipline.

MARIO ISOLA - PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“A very busy Saturday, as always on a Sprint weekend. The short race allowed us to check the behaviour of the Medium over a long distance and, from what we have seen so far, the indications from yesterday – very limited degradation, signs of wear and graining but not to any worrying degree – would seem to have been confirmed. We saw just one driver try the Soft in the Sprint, whereas last year there was a greater variety of choices made and so it is difficult to draw any definitive conclusions, as the data comes from just the one car. The Sauber driver’s choice highlights that the C3 requires very careful management if its life is to be extended for any sort of significant stint. 

In qualifying we saw that track evolution slowed down, stabilising in the second half. More significant was the impact of the wind which gradually reduced in strength, especially in the last part. The relatively low temperatures around 18/20 °C for both air and track, led to drivers taking different approaches to the flying lap. Some went for the classic out/timed/in while others did a preparation lap and still others, Verstappen in Q3 for example, doing just one run with two cool down laps. It is worth underlining the progress in lap times, not just the 3”258 improvement on last year with the same tyres and technical regulations, but also when compared to 2021 when the cars weighed almost fifty kilos less and Hamilton’s pole for the inaugural edition of this race was a 1’20”827. 

Based on today’s data, the one-stop option is looking even stronger. It’s true that in the Sprint we saw some cars reach the limit in terms of tyre wear but it did not cause a significant drop in performance. Furthermore, the track characteristics with no really heavy braking points, makes overtaking rather complicated, especially if cars find themselves in a DRS train as we saw in the Sprints, both F1 and F2. The Medium should be the favoured choice for the start, with a pit stop to take on Hards in a window between laps 16 and 24. Those starting at the back could run the two hardest compounds the other way round, while those considering a two-stop could decide to make the most of the better performance on offer from the Soft in the very early stages and then continue with two sets of Hard or possibly, one Hard and one Medium.”

Oliver Bearman won the penultimate Sprint Race of the FIA Formula 2 Championship. The English Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy driver, is already sure of an F1 seat with Haas next year, having taken part in three Grands Prix this season. In his Prema Racing car, he started from pole and got the better of a duel that became ever more intense over several laps with Isack Hadjar, who then dropped out of contention for a podium finish having led for much of the race. The pair had gone for different tyre choices: the Englishman started on the Hard and Campos Racing’s French driver with the Medium. He then paid the price for this aggressive choice when his performance dropped in the final quarter of the race. The second and third spots on the podium went to second placed American Jak Crawford (DAMS Lucas Oil) and in third, Dutchman Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport).

Abbi Pulling is the second champion in the two year history of the F1 Academy. The Englishwoman has secured the 2024 title with three races in hand, thanks to finishing second this evening. The Alpine-supported driver racing with the Rodin team, drove a clever race, maintaining her start position acquired in yesterday’s qualifying, from lights out to chequered flag and that was all she needed to take the title. The other podium positions also replicated the starting order with the win going to France’s Doriane Pin (Mercedes-Prema Racing) while third place went to Dutchwoman Maya Weug (Scuderia Ferrari-Prema Racing). Pulling thus follows in the wheel tracks of Marta Garcia, last year’s winner of the all-woman series of which Pirelli is the sole tyre supplier.

This is Norris’ third Sprint pole since the format was introduced in 2021, while McLaren are on five. Max Verstappen heads this particular list with nine poles from 18 sessions. On tomorrow afternoon’s grid, Norris will have the Mercedes of George Russell (1’21”075) alongside him while the second row features the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri (1’21”171) ahead of Carlos Sainz (1’21”281) in the Ferrari.

THE DAY ON TRACK

The one and only free practice session saw most of the drivers concentrate on the Medium and the Soft. The exceptions were the Ferrari and Williams drivers, who today opted to use one of their two available sets of Hards. Sainz and Leclerc also scrubbed in two sets of Mediums as well as doing a qualifying simulation on the Soft, while Colapinto and Albon preferred to hold back all three sets of Mediums for the rest of the weekend.

It was windy pretty much all day even if it dropped gradually in strength as the day went on and conditions were rather unusual for this part of the world with temperatures around 20 degrees lower than last year.

SIMONE BERRA – CHIEF ENGINEER

“It was a very interesting day and a surprising one in some ways. The most significant data is the improvement in lap times compared to last year, by a huge amount in FP, slightly less so but still significant in SQ. Running exactly the same tyres as last year and with hardly any changes to the technical regulations, this major drop in lap times can be put down to – apart from the natural performance progression of this generation of cars – mainly to the lower temperatures and also to the improvement of the condition of the track and the fact that, unlike in 2023, for this year’s event, there are support races running on track before the Formula 1 session and that has rubbered-in the track more.

As expected, performance improved very quickly the more laps were completed, both in free practice and in the Sprint Qualifying. So far, the level of graining we have seen is lower than what we might have expected and the performance degradation is very limited. This could push the teams more towards a one-stop strategy and with this in mind, it will be important to check tyre behaviour during tomorrow’s Sprint race, given that today, very few drivers did meaningful long runs with a heavy fuel load. For the “short” race, the Medium seems to be the most plausible option even if, as was already the case in 2023, the Soft cannot be completely ruled out, especially as the C3 has an ideal operating window in temperatures similar to those recorded today.

In terms of the integrity of the tyres, initial analysis has not thrown up any anomalies, confirming that the changes instigated by the FIA relating to the kerbs have had the desired effect. Obviously, it will be important to analyse the data from the Sprint when all the cars will run continuously for the equivalent of one third of Sunday’s race.”

Paul Aron will start from pole position in Sunday’s Feature Race in what will be the FIA Formula 2 Championship’s maiden appearance at the Lusail circuit. Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Estonian driver set a best time of 1’35”115, beating series leader, Brazil’s Gabriel Bortoleto (Invicta Racing) second in 1’35”450.

The compounds chosen for this weekend at one of the most severe tracks on the calendar, in terms of the forces exerted on the tyres are the Hard and Medium. All 16 corners are taken at medium or high speeds. The track surface is smooth, having been resurfaced last year, but it is usually very dirty because the wind blows sand onto it. Therefore, it is logical to expect to see lap times tumble rapidly the more the cars run, thus cleaning the racing line. One of the difficulties that could be encountered is graining, which reduces the performance life of the tyres.

The last back-to-back of this the longest ever Formula 1 season, gets underway in Qatar, the sixth Grand Prix weekend to be run to the Sprint format this year. 13,000 kilometres as the crow flies and an eleven hour time difference separate Doha from Las Vegas. They are both night races, held on the edge of large deserts, but that’s where the similarities end. In Nevada, drivers had to deal with a street circuit featuring medium to low speed corners with air and track temperatures only just above the 10 °C mark. In Qatar on the other hand, the Grand Prix is held on a permanent circuit with medium-high speed corners and ambient temperatures around the 25 °C mark.

When it comes to the tyres to be used, only the C3 is carried over from Vegas. In fact, at the Lusail track, the tyres are subjected to energy levels comparable to those at Suzuka and Silverstone and so the hardest trio of compounds in the 2024 range will be used, with the aforementioned C3 as Soft, the C2 as Medium and the C1 as Hard.

This is the third edition of the Qatar Grand Prix, the two previous events having been held in 2021 and 2023. Last year the weekend was affected by a decision taken by the FIA, imposing a maximum of 18 on the number of laps that one set of tyres could complete in the race, which led to all the drivers making three pit stops. The Race Director’s decision was deemed necessary after a notification from the Pirelli engineers. Following the usual analysis of the tyres returned to them by the teams after the first and second day of track activity, they pointed out the possibility of micro-lacerations in the sidewalls between the tread compound and the carcass cords, caused by impact generated from repeatedly driving over the kerbs at some corners.

Over the past few months, the FIA and Pirelli have worked together to prepare for this Grand Prix to ensure that what happened in 2023 will not be repeated. The pyramid-shaped kerbs have had their tips rounded off at seven of the track’s 16 corners: the first two after the start, turns 4 and 10 and the three from 12 to 14, the section that had most stressed the sides of the tyres. Engineers in the Pirelli Motorsport R&D department have carried out extensive and lengthy tests on the dynamic test beds in Milan, using a sample of the new kerbs supplied by the FIA. Furthermore, the engineers also analysed tyres from tests carried out by some Formula 1 teams in recent weeks at the Lusail circuit, running pre-2024 cars. Even though the tyres were obviously not identical to those from the 2024 range, the acquired data has still been useful to confirm the results of simulations and the indications from the test bed. It should also be noted that the FIA has ensured that a gravel strip is added to the outside of some kerbs to dissuade drivers from overstepping the mark in order to go quicker.

Another feature of last year’s race was the very high humidity level on Sunday which, combined with the rather high temperatures of a Qatari October, made life very physically demanding for the drivers, so much so that some of them felt ill because of the heat in the cockpit and one driver even had to retire from the race. This year the situation should be better in this respect as the race is taking place over one month later. However, the conditions last year led to a recent decision from the FIA World Council to authorise the use of a standardised cooling system in the cockpit at the hottest Grands Prix, as from next year.

However, it’s hard to avoid the high temperatures emanating from the Lusail track which was resurfaced in time for last year’s Grand Prix, to the extent that graining could be a feature, as it was in Las Vegas, albeit for opposite reasons: in Nevada it was caused by the cold and the lack of grip leading to the tyres sliding on the asphalt, causing abrasion of the tyre surface. This could have a significant impact on race strategy with the tyres possibly suffering from significant thermal degradation. Furthermore, there are so few precedents to these conditions that for now it is impossible to make predictions. Leaving aside the events of 2023, it should be remembered that, in 2021, some drivers only made one pit stop and others, like Hamilton and Verstappen who finished first and second, fought for the win running a two-stop strategy. While keeping in mind that 2021 featured cars from the previous generation, therefore with very different tyre compounds, there were many different choices made in terms of compounds used, as indeed was the case in last year’s Sprint when 12 drivers started on the Medium and eight on the Soft.

In the two editions of this event to date, the spoils of victory and pole positions have been shared equally between Hamilton and Verstappen, the only ways to split them being that the Dutchman has the advantage, having recorded the race fastest lap on both occasions, as well as finishing second in 2021. The other podium finishers are Alonso, who was third for Alpine in 2021, and Piastri and Norris, respectively second and third last year.

The Qatar Grand Prix weekend is also the penultimate round of two series that usually run in conjunction with Formula 1, namely Formula 2 and the F1 Academy, both having Pirelli as their sole tyre supplier.

This was Russell’s third win from 126 Grand Prix starts, his second of the season after the first in Spielberg. Mercedes topped every session this weekend on the way to their 60^th one-two finish, the last one dating back to Brazil two years ago, again with Russell winning from Hamilton.

With four titles, Verstappen now joins, Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost in fourth place on the all-time championship winners list, which is headed by Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher on seven titles apiece, followed by Juan-Manuel Fangio on five. Strangely, this is the second time Max has won the title on a Saturday, having won it last year after the Sprint race in Lusail. It is Red Bull’s eighth Drivers’ title, all under the leadership of Christian Horner, in charge since its maiden season in 2005. The team is fourth in this particular category behind Ferrari (15), McLaren (12) and Mercedes (9).

THE DAY ON TRACK   

Temperatures were slightly higher for the race, both ambient and track, compared to the previous days at 18/17 °C. On the grid, the vast majority of drivers opted to start on the Medium. There were four who chose otherwise: Alonso on Softs, Perez, Bottas and Colapinto, the latter starting from pit lane, on Hards. Almost all drivers made two stops, preferring to get the most out of the tyres, especially the two sets of Hards they had kept for the race, rather than trying to manage them, especially in the first stint.

As is so often the case, the laurels for the longest stints went to three specialists in this discipline, Kevin Magnussen and Esteban Ocon both completing 33 laps on the Hard, while Valtteri Bottas did 18 with the Medium.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“First of all, congratulations to Max Verstappen on his fourth world title, an incredible achievement for a youngster who has only recently turned 27. Well done too to Red Bull, as this is the eighth time one of their drivers has been crowned champion. After the start of this season seemed to be following the same pattern as last year’s, Max had a tough time of it, but fought hard race after race, even though he did not have the most competitive package, proving to be an extraordinary champion.

“Congratulations must also go to Formula 1 for having put on an amazing event here in Las Vegas, full of sights and sounds and above all, a great show on track which definitely proved popular with the crowd of over 300,000 spectators who came to the track over the weekend and the millions watching on television and on-line.

“As for tyre performance, it was not a particularly clear cut Grand Prix, starting with the strategy choices. Prior to the race, the one-stop was clearly the quickest option but in the end, almost all the drivers pitted twice, if we leave out Norris who made an additional stop to go for the point for setting the fastest race lap and Ocon, who preferred not to take any risks at the end. From an initial analysis of the data, this was due mainly to the fact that several drivers chose to push hard right from the start without giving too much thought to tyre management. As a consequence, some of them therefore suffered more than expected with graining and were forced to make their first pit stop earlier than planned, which triggered a chain reaction which bit by bit pushed everyone towards a two-stop, especially as they knew they could count on two sets of Hard tyres, which was without a doubt the most competitive compound for the race.

“On average, the level of performance degradation was relatively low on both the Medium and the Hard, and so too was wear. Clearly some drivers suffered with degradation more than others, especially on the C4, but a one-stop was still doable if the tyres were managed carefully. The result was an action-packed Grand Prix with plenty of overtaking and wheel-to-wheel battles which was great for all the fans of this wonderful sport.”

COMING UP NEXT FOR OUR TYRES

Formula 1 now heads to the Middle East for the final rush of the season. Next weekend it’s time for the Qatar Grand Prix, at the Lusail circuit, followed a week later by the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina track. All five compounds will come into play over these two final Grands Prix: Qatar will feature the three hardest compounds in the range – C1, C2 and C3, while the C3, C4 and C5 will be on duty in the United Arab Emirates. Both events also feature the last two rounds of the FIA Formula 2 and F1 Academy championships.

The balance between the teams has been very close throughout this 2024 season and there was further confirmation of that tonight, with the three quickest drivers coming from three different teams: behind Russell in the Mercedes (1’32”312) comes the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz (1’32”410), followed by Pierre Gasly in the Alpine (1’32”664). Seven teams were represented in the final phase of qualifying, the absentees being Sauber, Williams and Aston Martin, although the first two of those did at least get one driver into Q2.

THE DAY ON TRACK 

In the third free practice session, the Medium and Soft compounds once again did the bulk of the work, even if Mercedes, Aston Martin, Racing Bulls and just Zhou for Sauber started the session by scrubbing in the two sets of Hards allocated for this event. The Chinese driver also scrubbed in a set of Mediums, as did the Aston Martin duo and Russell, the latter actually waiting for his first Q3 run to scrub in a set of C4s.

With temperatures only just creeping over the 10 °C mark, preparing for the flying lap was predictably one of the most important factors in deciding the outcome of qualifying and that proved to be the case. In fact, teams adopted various different approaches to this task, especially in Q3: for example, the Mercedes pair and Verstappen chose to immediately go for a flying lap, while the Ferrari and McLaren duo opted for an additional preparation lap.

The Pirelli Pole Position Award was presented to George Russell by Gianluca Conte, known on social media as QCP (Queen City Prince). The Italian-American content creator is one of the best known food influencers on TikTok where he explains how to prepare Italian dishes to around 13 million followers. QCP has recently published his first recipe book, with the title “Italian/American.”

MARIO ISOLA - PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“A spectacular and very closely contested qualifying, the teams evenly matched, producing surprises from start to finish. As was easily predictable, the track is still very dirty and it gets significantly quicker with every passing lap. As previously mentioned, this aspect, combined with the preparation phase prior to the flying lap, played a very important role in determining the outcome of the session.

“In terms of strategy, on paper a one-stop is clearly the quickest, with the Medium and Hard the obvious choices. It’s true that no one has really used the C3 so far this weekend, but this compound is absolutely the one the teams know best and it was also extensively tried here in Las Vegas last year. It is therefore no coincidence that all the drivers have kept two sets of the C3 for tomorrow night’s race: they will definitely use one, while the other can be regarded as a back-up in case the race is neutralised, which is always quite possible on a street circuit. As was the case last year, the majority of drivers will start on the Medium before switching to the Hard as from lap 14. Those going for a more cautious approach, especially if they have been relegated to the back end of the grid, could opt to start with the Hard, going past the halfway point before pitting for Mediums. It’s difficult to imagine the Soft coming into play, apart from anyone planning right from the start to go for a two-stop, to make the most of the Hard with a clear track ahead.

“Graining will make itself felt, especially in the early stages, partly because, as we saw today, track conditions will again be reset as the track will have been reopened to city traffic.”

Six teams are represented in today’s top ten: the aforementioned Mercedes and McLaren, plus Ferrari, Alpine, Haas and Racing Bulls. A surprising omission is Red Bull with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez 17^th and 19^th respectively.

THE DAY ON TRACK

The first free practice session saw 18 of the 20 drivers use both the Soft and Medium compounds. The only exceptions were the Red Bull pair who chose to focus entirely on the C5, using two sets. In the second session, the Hard again failed to show on track, confirming the teams’ plans to keep both available sets for the race. There was just one red flag period, a very different scenario to this time last year, caused by Alex Albon having to park his Williams at the side of the track with a technical issue. Apart from Albon, all drivers worked through the usual FP2 programme, finding the best set-up for both qualifying and over a longer distance, especially evaluating the behaviour of the Medium tyre. Hamilton and Magnussen were the only ones to do a long run on Softs.

SIMONE BERRA – CHIEF ENGINEER 

“It was a very productive day, because the drivers were able to run continuously for all of the available two hours, gathering plenty of information and data on how the cars and tyres are behaving on an unusual track and in very different atmospheric conditions to normal.

“Obviously, the track was very dirty and performance improved dramatically the more the cars ran. The same will be true for the rest of the weekend, as is always the case on street circuits, especially those such as Las Vegas and Monaco, where the roads are reopened to normal traffic once the day’s track action is over. It’s hard to imagine that the level of grip, that was very low today, will stabilise: it will improve constantly, even over the course of the race. We saw a significant improvement in lap times compared to last year: Hamilton’s 1’33”825 is almost one and a half seconds quicker than Charles Leclerc’s 2023 time of 1’35”265 and only just over a second off the Monegasque’s pole time of 1’32”726.

“As for tyre behaviour, it should be stressed that the Hard looks like being the compound best suited to the race, paradoxically because nobody ran it today. As regards graining, the very low temperatures saw it appear on the Medium and Soft, especially across the front axle, but from what we have seen today, it was only on the surface of the tyres, therefore without having much effect on wear. In these conditions, the cars suffer mainly with understeer and one of the key points of the weekend will be to balance the set-up as well as possible. Also to be kept in mind is how much the front tyres will cool down on the longest straight: today we saw an average drop of around 35 degrees Centigrade at the braking point for turn 14.”

The Las Vegas Grand Prix is the third round this year to be held in the United States, following on from Miami and Austin.  After the 7.004 kilometre-long Spa-Francorchamps circuit, the Nevadan track is the second longest on the calendar at 6.201 kilometres. It features 17 corners, tackled over 50 times in the race. It is a high speed venue, with three straights and top speeds that hit 350 km/h last year, with several overtaking opportunities, especially at turn 14.

Once again this year, track action begins with two free practice sessions getting the event underway on Thursday, leading up to the race on Saturday night, run entirely under floodlights. There are other events that do the same – Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Qatar and Abu Dhabi – but none feature such a big drop in temperature between day and night as this weekend’s event. This is due to the city’s location in the Mojave desert, while the other four are all just a short distance from the sea. Furthermore, the November date rules out the more usual spring or summer weather enjoyed at most Grands Prix. It is therefore very likely that cars will be running in air temperatures of around 10 °C, with quite similar track temperatures.

As has become the norm for street circuits, Pirelli has selected the three softest compounds in the race, namely the C3 as Hard, the C4 as Medium and the C5 as Soft, as was the case in 2023. The main challenge on the tyre front will be warm-up, especially during qualifying and for the front axle in particular. Drivers will have to be careful to bring the tyres up to temperature without overworking them, avoiding any lock-ups at the heaviest braking points, particularly at the end of the longest straights, along which the tyres will suffer a further reduction in surface temperature. Furthermore, low temperatures lead to a reduction in grip and that can cause increased graining. These factors could lead to a speeding up of the wear process, which suggests a two-stop strategy, which was in fact the most popular choice last year. However, a one-stop can still be quite competitive, especially if the driver gradually brings the tyres up to temperature, prolonging its life over a long stint. Because of the difficulty in warm-up, pitting early to try and make up places with an undercut is not very efficient and in fact, on paper, going longer is a better choice.

Experience gained at last year’s inaugural event will be useful for the teams and for Pirelli. In fact, a great deal of data was acquired relating to grip and the abrasiveness of the track surface and this was shared with the teams, who also provided their simulation data. The first task on arrival at the track will be to check the initial levels of abrasiveness and grip and them compare them with last year’s numbers, making a track inspection and then analysing the data. Smooth and uninterrupted Thursday sessions will be important to produce further data to help make a more accurate prediction relating to tyre degradation and wear.

As always on a street circuit, red flags and Safety Cars are a strong probability with all the unknowns that can bring, including at the restart in terms of tyre temperature management.

In 2023, Max Verstappen won, first past the chequered flag ahead of Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez. Medium and Hard were the compounds used in the race, the yellow-banded tyre favoured by the majority of drivers on the starting grid.

This year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix will be the 79^th round of the Drivers’ World Championship held in the USA since the series started in 1950. The USA thus joins Germany and Great Britain in second place on the list of nations that have hosted the most Grands Prix, with only Italy on 107 having held more. To date, there have been 11 venues used in the United States:Austin (12 Grands Prix), Dallas (1), Detroit (7), Indianapolis (19), Las Vegas (3), Long Beach (8), Miami (3), Phoenix (3), Riverside (1), Sebring (1) and Watkins Glen (20). There’s an unusual statistic in that the two drivers that top the list of winners of races held in the USA will be on track this weekend in Las Vegas, namely Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen on six apiece. Following Charles Leclerc’s win in Austin last month, Ferrari is the most successful team in this country on 14 wins.

Apart from Formula 1, in Las Vegas Ferrari will also be involved in a one-off event for 35 Prancing Horse competitors in the North American series of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli driving their 296 Challenge cars, all shod with Pirelli tyres, a Ferrari partner in this series since it was established in 1993.

Also on the podium were both Alpine drivers, with Esteban Ocon second and Pierre Gasly third. The last time two Frenchman finished in the top three was at the 1997 Spanish Grand Prix when Olivier Panis (Prost-Mugen Honda) was second and Jean Alesi (Benetton-Renault) was third, preceded by another French speaker, Jacques Villeneuve (Williams-Renault).

THE DAY ON TRACK   

Track action began at 7.30 with qualifying, put back from yesterday because of the adverse weather conditions. Once again today, the rain played its part, with no drivers able to use dry weather tyres. The extreme wet featured in the first part of qualifying, before the Intermediate came into play. There were no fewer than five interruptions caused by drivers crashing, in a session that therefore lasted almost an hour and 45 minutes, with the rain varying in intensity several times.

The race was rescheduled to start at 12.30 and apart from it being red flagged towards the halfway mark because of heavy rain reducing visibility to a precarious degree, it went ahead with just a few Safety Car appearances. Over the 69 laps (the race distance was reduced by two laps due to the two aborted start procedures) the Intermediate did the lion’s share of the work. Only five drivers – Perez, Lawson, Tsunoda, Zhou and Hulkenberg – also used the Extreme when the rain got heavier, but then the red flag reset everything, and for the restart the Intermediate was clearly best suited to the track conditions. There were 33 tyre changes, including those under the red flag and a total of 51 sets were used, five of them for extreme wets. Of the drivers who finished the race, only four used two sets of Intermediates, namely Valtteri Bottas and the three drivers who finished on the podium.

Following a similar event at the Imola Grand Prix, the Sao Paulo Grand Prix provided another opportunity to remember Ayrton Senna in the thirtieth anniversary year of his tragic death. Pirelli contributed by producing a special edition of the Pole Position Award, presented to Lando Norris by Ayrton’s niece, Bianca Senna, the director of the eponymous institute, as well as a special version of the iconic Podium Cap. Both items featured the gold and green colours of the Brazilian flag, along with the Senna logo. Bianca is the daughter of the three-times world champion’s sister, Viviane, who founded the non-profit organisation that has been involved in supporting educational projects for Brazilian children and teenagers for the past thirty years.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“What can I say, that was a really busy Sunday! It’s true it has happened before that we have had qualifying and the race on the same day, even in this period since Pirelli has been the Global Tyre Supplier to Formula 1. But never before has it taken place so early in the day and in such a compressed time format, with many of the Formula 1 family hearing their alarm clocks going off well before dawn! I feel we should applaud all those who made it possible to ensure that the entire weekend programme was completed, despite the weather complicating matters since yesterday afternoon. There was an extraordinary crowd of almost three hundred thousand spectators at Interlagos and I’m sure that they and all those watching on television and on the various social platforms were rewarded with a very exciting show, both in qualifying and the race. They would have experienced a whole range of emotions, which is often the case when rain come along to lower adhesion while highlighting the skills of the drivers. From a technical point of view, we leave Interlagos having picked up plenty of useful information. In today’s qualifying we saw both the extreme wet and intermediate tyres at work and could therefore clearly verify their operating windows. In the race, there was a point when one could have made a direct comparison between the two types of tyre over a long stint, but in fact the neutralisation caused when visibility was deemed too poor, meant we only saw this for a handful of laps. One should also bear in mind that the rain varied in intensity several times and on a brand-new track surface, the grip levels in the wet were very limited, partly due to the oily layer that it created. All things considered, I believe both tyres proved to be up to the job in hand.”

COMING UP NEXT FOR OUR TYRES

There are now three weeks until the start of the triple-header that will bring the curtain down on the 2024 season. It begins with the second edition of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, from 21 to 23 November on the street circuit laid out around the famous Strip. For this round, set in the Nevada desert, the third Grand Prix to be held this year in the USA, the dry compounds chosen are the same as here in Sao Paulo, namely, the C3 as Hard, the C4 as Medium and the C5 as Soft.

Before Las Vegas, Pirelli is heading to Magny-Cours on 13 and 14 November, for another test session for the 2026 tyres. With the help of the Alpine team, this will be a test of the first prototype rain tyres.

THE DAY ON TRACK 

The Sprint Race was run in the dry, with all drivers opting for the Medium compound and only Gasly (Alpine) and Lawson (Racing Bulls) going with a new set of the C4. The 24 laps were run at quite a fast pace which tested the tyres on a track surface where temperatures, while not reaching the very high figures seen in yesterday’s free practice, still exceeded the 40 °C mark. Thermal degradation on the Medium proved to be manageable, but at the same time it reached wear levels close to if not in excess of its limit. This meant that the drivers could push hard without seeing a significant drop in performance. Track conditions continued to improve with every passing lap and, as for graining, the front axle saw a reduction in this compared to yesterday’s free practice, while at the rear it remained stable.

MARIO ISOLA - PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“It’s such a shame that the rain meant qualifying could not take place and I feel very sorry for all the amazing spectators who packed the grandstands at Interlagos with their usual great enthusiasm. However, the track conditions were not safe enough to allow the cars to run, after which the visibility factor came into play. Postponing the session to tomorrow is the logical and sensible solution.

“The Sprint Race was very interesting, because even if there was not much overtaking, there were plenty of good battles, especially among the top four. All the drivers ran the Medium compound, as was widely forecast going into the event. Now, all the teams have a very useful reference point to help define the best possible strategy for the race, although there are other factors they must consider. The first and most obvious one is the weather, with the forecast currently predicting a higher chance of rain than today for the afternoon. The second is the possible effect of today’s rain on the new Interlagos track surface. There is the possibility that in the event of a dry race and/or qualifying, then grip conditions could reset to where they were initially.

“In terms of strategy, clearly we can only make predictions in the case of a dry race. From what we saw today, a two-stop is the most realistic option, both in terms of overall race time and the amount of tyre management required to complete it. In theory, the one stop, using Medium and Hard, could be attempted but we do not feel it is advisable given the wear levels we saw in the Sprint on the Medium. Clearly, the teams were able to make adjustments to limit wear but the data we have so far is equally clear and anyone going down that route would be taking an unnecessary step into the unknown.

“As I said earlier, the two-stop is preferable, using various combinations of Medium and Hard. Keep in mind that each driver has one new and one used set of C4 and two new sets of C3. The C5 could also come into play, for a possible final stint, especially if the temperatures are lower than yesterday’s.”

On the second row, we find Charles Leclerc for Ferrari (1’09”153) and Max Verstappen in the Red Bull (1’09”219). Eight teams, the three already mentioned along with Mercedes with George Russell, Alpine with Pierre Gasly, Racing Bulls with Liam Lawson, Williams with Alexander Albon and Haas with Oliver Bearman, all made it to Q3. That left just Sauber, who at least got to SQ2 with Valtteri Bottas and Aston Martin, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll both going out in SQ1.

THE DAY ON TRACK

In the only free practice session this weekend, only the Soft and Medium compound tyres were used, apart from the usual scrubbing-in of Hards by both Aston Martin drivers. The teams focussed mainly on finding the best set-up, with some of them doing long runs, although with various levels of fuel on board.

From one session to the next, the temperatures changed considerably, especially on the track. The air reached 31 °C in FP, but dropped to 21°C by the end of SQ, while the track temperature plummeted from a peak of 57°C at 12.15 to 36°C at 16.30. This was mainly down to cloud cover which in the grid-deciding session prevented the sun from heating up the new track surface, as it had done in free practice. 

Oscar Piastri was presented with the Pirelli Sprint Qualifying Award by two special fans and content creators, chosen by the promoter. Luca Morelli and Murilo Bellini are two youngsters who communicate their passion for Formula 1 on social networks, with a light-hearted and fun tone of voice and between them they already have over 400,000 followers on Instagram.

SIMONE BERRA – CHIEF ENGINEER

“When one comes to a resurfaced track there are always a lot of unknowns, even if simulations are getting ever more sophisticated. Even a historic track like Interlagos is no exception, as the track has been completely resurfaced. From what we could tell from measurements taken in recent days and from today’s activity on track, some significant points have emerged. The surface is very smooth and its level of abrasiveness is significantly lower than what we measured last year. But there are many bumps which make life complicated for the teams and drivers. The grip level was initially in line with what we have seen in the past, but it increased very markedly as the cars did more and more laps, which is entirely predictable. Furthermore, we saw that track temperature could oscillate a lot, especially dependent on cloud cover. Another unknown, but how important it will be we will only know if it happens, is the cars’ grip level in the wet. At the moment, the forecast is for a significant chance of rain for tomorrow afternoon and even more so on Sunday and so this will be a parameter to keep in mind.

In terms of how the compounds behaved and how the teams chose to use them, we saw that all teams kept the two sets of Hards for the rest of the weekend. The Medium is the clear favourite for the Sprint, so that we can predict a two-stop race on Sunday, using the Medium and the Hard, along the lines of last year. One should remember that the compounds here are one step softer than last year, meaning that today’s hard is last year’s Medium and the 2024 Medium is the 2023 Soft. It is hard to imagine this year’s soft, the C5, being raced, even if it’s performing well. One matter we have to analyse carefully in the next few hours is why the Soft did not produce the upturn in performance we had predicted in SQ. That said, the quickest time of the day set by Norris in SQ3, is 1”723 quicker than last year’s best.”

The final triple-header of the season gets underway in the Nevada desert with the second running of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The street circuit, built around the Strip, hosts the third and final Formula 1 race of the year to be held in the USA from 21 to 23 November. Racing under floodlights, the drivers will be able to choose from the three softest compounds in the range (C3 as Hard, C4 as Medium and C5 and Soft). The same trio will be used for the final round in Abu Dhabi, from 6 to 8 December at the Yas Marina circuit.

In between these two events, Formula 1 stops off in Qatar, where it has already raced in 2021 and 2023. This year’s race takes place all most two months later than in 2023, (28-30 November) and so there should be some slight respite from the humidity. The Lusail track exerts similar forces on the tyres to those at Silverstone and Suzuka circuits and so the hardest compounds will be used: C1 as Hard, C2 as Medium and C3 as Soft.

As usual, there’s one more act to be played out after the final race and that’s a test day, still in Abu Dhabi, on 10 December, with a two-part test programme. Each team will field two cars: one for young drivers running the 2024 tyres and the other to test the final versions of the tyres that will be used next year.

There is a common thread, a very dark one in this case, that links all three of the aforementioned tracks, namely new asphalt. However, while in Austin and Mexico City only sections of the tracks had been resurfaced, in Sao Paulo all 4.309 kilometres has been renewed, including the pit lane. The work was only recently completed and the asphalt was then thoroughly cleaned, using a high pressure water washing system that removes the sheen that usually appears on brand new bitumen and this has also increased the abrasiveness of the surface.

Therefore, the track surface will be a completely unknown factor for drivers and teams this weekend. Complicating the puzzle still further is the fact Pirelli has chosen to bring a softer trio of compounds to Brazil than last year: the C3 will be the Hard, with C4 as Medium and C5 as soft. On top of that it’s a Sprint weekend, so that there is only free practice session for teams to find the best set-up, even if, as was seen in Austin, the “short” race in fact proved to be very useful to fine tune the balance of the car for the actual Grand Prix.

At Interlagos, the lateral and longitudinal forces exerted on the tyres around the 15 corners of this anticlockwise track are medium to low in intensity and well distributed across both axles. Furthermore, the new track surface could see a lowering of lap times and, as a consequence, an increase of the stress to which the tyres are subjected.

The Brazilian weekend usually provides spectacular action. The circuit named in honour of José Carlos Pace presents several overtaking opportunities, but other random factors, such as a high chance of a Safety Car and extremely changeable weather, make the outcome of the Grand Prix uncertain and hard to predict. Usually, the fastest strategy is a two-stop, favouring the use of the softer compounds. Last year, all bar one of the drivers chose to start on the Softs, but a red flag after the start allowed for a switch to Mediums before ending the race on another set of Softs. This year, the fact the compounds are a step softer could open up a wider range of possible strategies, making the race even more exciting.

The Interlagos circuit has hosted 40 Grands Prix, but only the last three have been named after the Paulista city. The previous 37 went by the name of the Brazilian Grand Prix, a race which was also held ten times at Rio de Janeiro’s Jacarepaguà circuit.

The most successful driver in Brazil is Alain Prost with six wins to his name, although only one of those was in Sao Paulo, a track where Michael Schumacher holds the record with four victories. Ayrton Senna tops the list for pole positions with six in his home country, equally divided between the two tracks. At Interlagos, four other drivers have matched Senna’s total: his fellow countrymen Felipe Massa and Rubens Barrichello, Mika Hakkinen and Lewis Hamilton. Of the teams, McLaren is the most successful with 11 wins, although Ferrari has the most wins at Interlagos with nine. The English team tops the list for pole positions in this event with 11 as well as when it comes to those at this weekend’s venue, with nine.

This year marks the 30^th anniversary of the tragic death of Ayrton Senna and, as was the case at Imola back in May, events and tributes will be held at Interlagos. Pirelli will be involved, in conjunction with the Senna Institute, auctioning a special version of the Pole Position Award in the Brazilian national colours, also featuring the legendary Brazilian’s logo. Furthermore, as was the case at five previous races this year, there will be a special edition of the Pirelli Podium Cap, also in the colours of the national flag with the Senna logo, paying tribute to a driver who will forever be remembered not just by all Brazilians, but also by all those who love Formula 1.

Verstappen’s lead in the Drivers’ classification has now come down to 47 points ahead of Norris and 71 more than Leclerc. In the Constructors’ standings, McLaren still leads on 566 points while Ferrari has 537 and has moved ahead of Red Bull who are now third on 512.

THE DAY ON TRACK   

14 drivers opted to start on the Medium, while six (Perez, Ocon, Colapinto, Lawson, Bottas and Zhou) went with the Hard. The Safety Car was required right from the opening lap following the collision between Tsunoda and Albon, which led to both of them retiring. In the first few laps after the restart, the race was action-packed with drivers passing and repassing, giving the Stewards plenty of work to do… Then the race settled down, especially the leading positions, before springing back to life in the closing stages with duels between Leclerc and Norris and the Mercedes pair. The only unusual aspects were Verstappen’s climb through the field, having dropped down the order with a double penalty totalling 20 seconds, before he eventually made it up to sixth place. There was also a long distance chess game as some drivers tried to gain, or stop others from gaining, the extra point for the race fastest lap.

Piastri drove the longest stint on the Medium, doing the opening 39 laps on a set of the C4. The longest stint of all on one set of tyres came from one of the specialists in this discipline, namely Bottas who ran 49 laps on the Hard.

Aside from the final pit stops at the very end in the chase for the fastest lap time, all the drivers ran a one-stop race with the exception of Perez who, starting down the back, tried something different.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“A race that provided plenty of excitement right from the start, before gradually settling down, at least as far as the leaders were concerned, before livening up again towards the finish with duels between Leclerc and Norris and an even longer one between Hamilton and Russell. There was plenty of action behind the top five, and at the very end, several drivers pitted for fresh tyres to go for the fastest race lap.

“In terms of strategy, the predictions going into the event were confirmed, with the one-stop being the outright favourite and starting on the Medium before switching to the Hard proving to be the quickest of all the various combinations. Piastri was a good example of this, because even starting from a long way back on the grid, he adopted the same strategy as those at the front and was able to finish in the points.

“Usually, one-stop races require careful tyre management, but today we saw that the drivers were able to push without worrying too much about degradation, which was very limited on both compounds. The Medium showed a few signs of graining, but that did not affect performance excessively, while the Hard always performed well, even for those running the longest stints which came close to the 50 laps mark.”

THE DAY ON TRACK 

With the second free practice session being given over almost entirely to the in-competition test for development of the 2025 tyres, FP3 was very busy, with all 20 drivers focussing on performance runs, fortunately with no interruptions. The drivers at Aston Martin, Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes ran only the Soft compound, apart from scrubbing in laps from George Russell on a set of Mediums and from Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll who each scrubbed in one set of Medium and one of Hard. The C3 was also scrubbed in by Sauber which usually prefers this approach to its race preparation and today, the Hinwil team also scrubbed in a set of Mediums apart from the one used for the normal runs. The other teams split their mileage between Medium and Soft. In qualifying, the three teams at the front, barring any penalties reported between now and tomorrow, Ferrari Mercedes and McLaren, chose to start Q1 with the Medium, while the others obviously only used Softs.
The Pirelli Pole Position Award was presented to Sainz by Mario Isola, Pirelli Director of Motorsport.

MARIO ISOLA - PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“A very closely contested qualifying which, for the second year running, saw a Ferrari come out on top here in Mexico City. This all suggests that in tomorrow’s race the cars will also be evenly matched, especially when it comes to the fight between Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren who so far, have shown they have the edge at this track.

“Today, we saw the times come down throughout, which proves that the track surface is still evolving. It will be the same again in tomorrow’s race, as the cars gradually rubber-in the track more and more. In terms of strategy, this is generally a race where the one-stop is fastest, with the Hard and Medium taking centre stage. Over the past two days, we have seen that the level of graining is significantly less than in the past, which favours the one-stop even more. Theoretically, the quickest strategy involves starting on the Medium before switching to the Hard between lap 25 and 32. Those who opt to start on the C3 should pit between lap 36 and 43 to switch to the C4. The Soft cannot be ruled out entirely: it could come into play as an option either at the start or towards the end, paired with the Hard, or maybe as a set to start on for those gambling on a two-stop to make the most of having two sets of Mediums available, which is on paper the most competitive of the three compounds brought to Mexico.”

The three fastest times of the day were set in the second session. Quickest was Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari (1’17”699) set on a performance run with a C4 prototype. Second was Oscar Piastri (McLaren), who set a time of 1’17”877 on a set of C5 prototypes. Third, just one thousandth slower was Yuki Tsunoda in the Racing Bull, using a set of standard C5s. Fastest in FP1 was George Russell (Mercedes) with a time of 1’17”998 on a set of Softs.

THE DAY ON TRACK

In the first session, all the drivers, including five rookies - Oliver Bearman (Ferrari), Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Patricio O’Ward (McLaren), Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin) and Robert Shwartzman (Sauber) – started off on a set of the Hard compound before switching to Softs. There were two red flags, one to remove debris from the track, the other following a collision between Bearman and Alex Albon in the Williams, and these reduced track time by 20 minutes. In the early part of FP2, the session was red flagged for four minutes longer, a total of 24 minutes, when Russell went off the track. However, as this session had been specifically extended to 90 minutes to accommodate the in-competition test, almost the entire programme was completed.

For the final part of FP2, the five race drivers who had not run in the first session were able to run a set of Medium tyres in order to partially make up for the time lost in the first session. However, it should be noted that in FP2 all drivers were able to carry out at least two runs – one short and one long – with either the C4 or C5 that were available to them for this event.

SIMONE BERRA – CHIEF ENGINEER 

“A very important session for us, with a packed programme: not only did we need to gather as much data as possible for the rest of the weekend, but above all, because the in-competition test was the final opportunity to finalise the compound choice, at least as far the softer compounds in the range are concerned, for the 2025 season. With 44 of the total 150 minutes that should have been available lost with the three interruptions, it definitely did not make life easy, neither for us, nor for the teams whom we must thank for their cooperation in running this test.

“As for the Mexico City race weekend, there were few surprises compared to what we had expected. First and foremost, in the first session there was practically no graining. It’s true that there were not many very long runs, but on a track where in the past, graining played a significant role, that’s already a positive sign. The track seemed quick right from the start, with times significantly faster than last year’s, while running in very similar temperatures. The performance evolution was significant, along with, in FP2, quite a drop in temperature as dusk gradually approached.

“As for the in-competition test, clearly we gathered a lot of data, as it’s not often that we have 20 cars running in the same conditions with different options being compared at the same time. That will require an accurate analysis, but the very first indications have nevertheless emerged. First of all, we can say that the new compounds generally proved to be more mechanically resistant than the current ones, which should reduce the phenomenon of graining. Digging down further into the detail, we saw some rather promising and improved C4 options, both in terms of performance and degradation. As for the C5, there are solutions that seem to contain the degradation more, while of the C6s, there is one that seems clearly better, but we need to look at how to position it compared to the C5 in the 2025 range.”

The first day of track action, Friday 25 October, will be slightly different to usual. The second free practice session will be entirely given over to validating the softer compounds in Pirelli’s 2025 range (C4, C5 and C6) in what is known as an in-competition test. The session is extended by 30 minutes to 90 and all drivers and teams will have to follow a specific programme established by the Pirelli engineers. Apart from the dry tyre allocation specifically for the Grand Prix (two sets of Hard, three of Medium and seven of Soft, one less than usual), each driver will have two additional sets of tyres: one will be identical to the one available for the weekend, to act as a baseline, while the other will be a 2025 prototype option, both in terms of compound and of construction – actually the latter already homologated back in September.

These two sets will not have any sidewall colour bands. The plan is for the programme to include a performance run and a long run for each set, with every team running the same number of laps with the same quantity of fuel on board, dependent on the type of run. The only exception will be in the case of a regular race driver being replaced for FP1 by a young driver. These race drivers will carry out the Pirelli test for 60 minutes of FP2 only and will have an additional set of Medium compound tyres to catch up as much as possible on acquiring data for the rest of the weekend. All the test data will then be analysed by Pirelli engineers to fine tune the characteristics of the compounds prior to the group test in Abu Dhabi, which starts on the Tuesday after the final round of the 2024 championship. It means that teams will have to prepare their cars for qualifying and the race in the space of two hours: FP1 on Friday and FP3 on Saturday.

The Hermanos Rodriguez track is 4.304 km long, with 17 corners and a surface that is low in terms of its severity on tyres. This year the promoter has resurfaced the section between turns 12 and 15 in the third sector. The very smooth asphalt and the fact the track is hardly used means that grip levels are rather low at the start of the weekend and track evolution is very marked, rubbering in the more the cars run.

Mexico City is located at over 2000 metres above sea level and the rarified air has an influence on car performance, reducing the aerodynamic downforce generated by the cars. One of the consequences of this is that top speeds reached are very high, despite a configuration that actually looks typical of tracks that require maximum downforce – the speed record was set here in 2016 when Valtteri Bottas in the Williams-Mercedes was clocked at 372.5 km/h - even if the level of graining is usually quite high. Furthermore, on the longest straights, the main one and the one between turns 3 and 4, the surface temperature of the tyres tends to drop pretty quickly and the drivers have to be very careful when braking, especially at turn 1, to avoid locking the wheels and therefore damaging the tyres.

In terms of strategy, this is usually a one-stop race. Last year, the majority of drivers tried to manage the Medium to lengthen the first stint as much as possible. A Safety Car and a later red flag, after Kevin Magnussen went off the track in the Haas, meant that nearly the entire field used three sets of tyres in a race that was pretty much divided in two.

Formula 1 has always been very popular in Mexico, even if there have only ever been 23 championship races held here, all of them at this circuit in the capital city, inaugurated in 1962. The races took place in three periods: from 1963 to 1970, from 1986 to 1992 and from 2015 onwards. A change of name in 2021 saw the Mexican Grand Prix renamed after the city.

There have been 15 different winners over the 23 editions of this race. Max Verstappen is the most successful driver with five wins, with his Red Bull team on the same number heading the teams’ classification. Jim Clark has started from pole the most often (four times) while Lewis Hamilton has the most podium finishes with six. Of the constructors, Lotus on 6 has the most poles and Ferrari leads the way for podium finishes with 12.

Joining them on the podium was Max Verstappen, who thus extends his Drivers’ championship lead to 57 points ahead of Lando Norris, who finished fourth today. The fight in the Constructors’ championship is much closer with three teams all covered by 48 points: McLaren leads on 544, followed by Red Bull on 504 and Ferrari on 496.

THE DAY ON TRACK

Fifteen drivers opted to start on the Medium tyre, with the Sauber drivers, Bottas and Zhou going with a used set. Five others, Hamilton and Russell in the Mercedes, Stroll (Aston Martin), Colapinto (Williams) and Lawson (Racing Bulls) lined up on Hard tyres. As expected, the Soft was not considered, although Ocon (Alpine) fitted them right at the very end with the aim of depriving Colapinto in the Williams of picking up the point for the race fastest lap, a mission successfully accomplished by the Alpine driver.

The one-stop was the preferred strategy for the vast majority of drivers. Apart from the previously mentioned Ocon, only Zhou and Magnussen (Haas) made two planned stops, while Albon (Williams) had to stop in the early stages to take on a second set of Mediums.

Russell and Bottas both drove the longest stints of all, driving 40 laps on the Hard, the Englishman on his first stint, the Finn on his second. The longest run on the Medium tyre was completed by Piastri who drove 32 laps in the McLaren.

MARIO ISOLA - PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   
 

“First and foremost, congratulations to Ferrari for a wonderful one-two finish in a country which has always been very important for the Prancing Horse. On the tyre front, it was a very interesting Sunday, because of the technical insights it provided. Based on previous data and from what we learned in yesterday’s Sprint, when the Medium demonstrated a very high wear rate, combined with what we knew from this race last year, a one-stop did not seem viable. And yet it proved to be not only the winning strategy, but also almost the only one adopted by the field. As for the behaviour of the Medium, the Safety Car following Hamilton going off the track in the early stages, meant that those who had started on this compound could extend their stint, while it also meant the tyres were put under less stress during the crucial early stages, when the cars are running with a heavy fuel load. There were two other elements to consider: the significant evolution of the track condition, with much of it resurfaced leading to a major reduction in graining compared to what we saw in the Sprint and then the changes the teams were able to make to their set-up, based on what they learned yesterday.”

COMING UP NEXT FOR OUR TYRES

The second stop on Formula 1’s long trip in the Americas will be at Mexico City’s Hermanos Rodriguez Circuit where the available tyres will be the C3 as Hard, C4 as Medium and C5 as Soft. It will be an important weekend for Pirelli looking ahead to 2025. In fact, the second free practice session is extended to 90 minutes to be run as what is known as an “in competition test” and will be entirely given over to testing the softest compounds of next year’s range.

Norris’ best time of 1’32”330 was 2”393 quicker than last year’s pole and almost 1”3 better than the pre-event simulation times, confirming the improvement in outright performance at this track already seen yesterday. It is also likely the lap times could have been even quicker, thanks to the cooler temperatures towards the end of Q3, but George Russell’s crash meant that the other nine drivers in the final session were unable to complete their second runs.

Max Verstappen, winner of the Sprint earlier in the day, starts alongside Norris with a time of 1’32”361. The Dutchman proved his mastery of the Saturday race, this being his 11th win from the 16 Formula 1 Sprints that have been held so far. The second row is an all-Ferrari affair with Carlos Sainz third in 1’32”652 ahead of Charles Leclerc (1’32”740).

THE DAY ON TRACK 
 

All the drivers used one set of Medium tyres for the Sprint race. Only five drivers - Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Alexander Albon (Williams), Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) and Guanyu Zhou (Sauber) – used a new set with the others all opting for a set used in Sprint Qualifying.

For qualifying, all drivers used the Soft, some of them starting off with a set they had previously used yesterday.

The Pirelli Pole Position Award was presented to Norris by Sweden’s Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, gold medal winner in the pole vault at the 2024 Paris Olympics and in Tokyo in 2020. Duplantis who has joint American-Swedish nationality is considered the greatest ever at this discipline in which he also holds the world record of 6.26 metres.

MARIO ISOLA - PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT
 

“A very interesting Saturday, although it was a shame that the thrilling climax to qualifying was never reached because of Russell’s crash. It would have been exciting to see how the fight for pole position would have gone, with at least four drivers seeming capable of securing it. The Sprint race was also very exciting with many duels and with the outcome being uncertain right to the end.

For us and of course for the teams, the 19 laps of the Sprint were a great opportunity to see the Medium at work over a long run, given that it will be the most popular choice for tomorrow’s race. Few drivers held back, so we were able to collect some interesting, but not surprising, data.”

On a track where the total pit stop time is not very long (20”5), a two-stop is clearly the quickest strategy and with nine of the ten teams having already used one set of Hards in the only free practice session yesterday, it’s clear the most likely option involves the use of two sets of the C3 and the remaining one C2. As to how their use will be split between the stints, honestly, we expect that everyone will try and start the race on the Medium. So, to sum up, the quickest strategy, based on a preliminary analysis, is a first stint on the C3, with a pit stop between laps 16 and 22 to switch to the C2, with a second stop between laps 35 and 41 to finish back on the C3. Those who want to run their final stint with the C2 could pit for the first time between laps 11 and 20 and a second time between laps 32 and 38. Finally, a third but unlikely route would be to use all three compounds: start on the C4 (first stop between laps 10 and 14), switch to the C2 (second stop between 34 and 40) and finish with the C3.”

There will be four different teams represented on the front two rows of the grid, covered by just two and a half tenths, further confirmation of how closely contested is this season. The Red Bull driver secured his eighth Sprint qualifying pole in a time of 1’32”833, 12 thousandths quicker than second placed George Russell in the Mercedes (1’32”845). The second row is made up of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari (1’33”059) and Land Norris in the McLaren (1’33”083).

THE DAY ON TRACK 
 

The only free practice session of the weekend saw almost all drivers use the hardest compound available for this Grand Prix, the C2. The only exceptions were the two Saubers, with Valtteri Bottas using the Medium and the Soft, while Guanyu Zhou concentrated on the C4. The other 18 drivers did not use the C3 at all, starting the session on the Hard before switching to the Soft. As per the regulations for Sprint Qualifying, the Medium must be used for Q1 and Q2 with the Soft coming into play for Q3.

Verstappen was presented with the Pirelli Sprint Qualifying Award by Germany’s Leo Neugebauer, the multi-disciplined athlete, who won the silver medal at the Paris Olympics in the decathlon. He is also his country’s record holder in this discipline, as well as being the indoor heptathlon champion. Handmade in Italy, the trophy consists of a square of FSC™️certified natural rubber, enclosed between two pieces of glass on which is etched the layout of the Circuit of the Americas and the FSC™️ logo, a stylised tree. The same rubber is part of the raw materials used in the manufacture of all the Pirelli P Zero Formula 1 tyres, complying with the environmental and social sustainability criteria defined by the forestry management non-governmental organisation.

SIMONE BERRA – CHIEF ENGINEER   
 

“A Friday which saw lap times clearly quicker than those from last year at this track and also lower than the simulations going into the event based on the average of data received by Pirelli from the ten teams. In fact, today’s pole was also two seconds quicker than last year’s (1’34”723) and a little over seven tenths faster than the predicted time of 1’33”600.

With the same tyres as last year, several factors contributed to the significant reduction in lap time, apart from the normal evolution of the cars: the resurfaced track offered more grip, there was a marked reduction in the number of bumps, which meant the teams could lower the car’s height to the ground, while temperatures were also cooler than last year’s.

“As for the difference in performance between the compounds, an initial analysis would suggest that they are pretty much in line with our predictions, even if it has to be said that, particularly in Q3, it wasn’t easy for the drivers to get all the potential out of the softest compound, partly because of the gusts of wind, which at times got close to 30 km/h.

Tomorrow, we expect that, as was the case in 2023, the Medium will be the absolute favourite (last year only Sainz used the Soft). On Sunday too, the C3 will be the most used tyre, which explains why in today’s free practice, with the exception of the Sauber duo, all drivers used at least one set of Hards. In a race where the quickest strategy is a two-stop, with the Soft apparently not a valid option, it’s clear that the Medium will rule the roost.”

This year’s United States Grand Prix, the first leg of an all-American triple-header also sees changes to the track at COTA (the Circuit of the Americas) as much of it has been resurfaced, completing the work begun two years ago. This includes the sections between turns 9 and 12 and 16 and 3, which thus includes the two longest straights where DRS can be used. The abrasiveness of the track could therefore have changed since last year, given that a new layer of bitumen is usually smoother than an old track surface. This adds to the importance of acquiring as much data as possible during the one and only hour of free practice, early on Friday afternoon as the Sprint format returns for the Austin weekend. Other changes include the use of fake gravel for the run-off areas at some corners, as already seen at other tracks, Zandvoort for example. This has been done to alleviate the controversy that can arise over exceeding track limits, without the problem of real gravel being thrown onto the track. The new surface should also have dealt with the problem of the small bumps that have developed on the racing line at some points over the years, which made life hard for the drivers and upset the car’s handling.

The dry weather compounds chosen are the same as those used for the past two editions of the Austin round, namely the C2 as Hard, the C3 as Medium and the C4 as Soft. COTA really does have a bit of everything, partly because the track designed by Hermann Tilke takes its inspiration from some of the most demanding and much loved tracks such as Silverstone and Suzuka (turns 3 to 6), Hockenheim (a sort of Motodrom from 12 to 15) and the section from 16 to 18, which owes something to the never-ending turn 8 at Istanbul’s Otopark. However, Austin’s stand-out feature is the steep climb off the line to the first corner, which is very wide and therefore sees drivers taking a variety of lines through it, which always makes for spectacular viewing.

In terms of the forces exerted on the tyres, the loads at COTA are fairly evenly distributed between the front and rear axles and are more lateral than vertical. Usually, degradation is thermal and is therefore linked to the ambient temperature which in Texas in October can fluctuate considerably from one day to the next. In terms of strategy, one will need to wait and see how this might be affected by the new surface, keeping in mind that Saturday’s Sprint should provide plenty of useful data. In last year’s short race, the Medium was chosen by the majority of drivers, although some risked using the Soft, which was then only used in the final stages of the following day’s Grand Prix in an attempt to secure the additional point for setting the fastest race lap. Normally, a two-stop has always been the quickest here, especially as a one-stop involves a lot of careful degradation management, to the obvious detriment of performance. In 2023, the most used compound was the C3, which was more effective than the C2 and now it will be interesting to see if the new asphalt could bring the Hard back into play.

Austin is the second of three races this season in the USA, following on from Miami and preceding Las Vegas. It seems that Formula 1 has finally found its way into the psyche of the star-spangled fans, even if there were three races back in 1983, in Long Beach, Detroit and Las Vegas. In fact, the USA sits fourth on the list of countries that have hosted the most races with 77, although that includes 11 Indianapolis 500 races that counted towards the Drivers’ World Championship from 1950 to 1960. Heading this list are Great Britain and Germany on 79 apiece and Italy on 107. There have been eleven venues for the USA GP: Austin (11), Dallas (1), Detroit (7), Indianapolis (19), Las Vegas (3), Long Beach (8), Miami (3), Phoenix (3), Riverside (1), Sebring (1) and Watkins Glen (20).  An unusual statistic: the two drivers with the most USA Grands Prix will be on track this weekend, as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen both have six wins to their name. As for the teams, here too there are joint leaders, with Ferrari and McLaren both on 13. Will this weekend see a clear leader emerge?

THE DAY ON TRACK   

As expected, most of the field went for the Medium at the start: 14 drivers lined up on the C4, four (Stroll, Bottas, Zhou and Magnussen) on the C3 and two on the C5 (Hamilton and Ricciardo).

The Medium proved to be very flexible in terms of stint length, allowing nearly all drivers to complete the race making just one pit stop. Depending on track position and traffic, we saw drivers stop as early as lap 13 (Sainz) while others even got all the way to lap 38 (Piastri). In fact, Ferrari’s Spanish driver did the longest stint of all, covering no less than 49 laps on the Hard.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“All in all, this was a relatively straightforward race, without a single neutralisation, the first time that has happened in the history of this race. The one-stop proved to be definitely the quickest and all three compounds behaved as expected. The Medium and the Hard clearly saw the most use, but the Soft also proved its worth, as could be seen for example in the times set by Hamilton on full fuel load in his first 17 lap stint, or with Tsunoda over 28 laps in the second part of the race, with a perfectly acceptable level of degradation.

“When it comes to evaluating tyre performance, an important factor to consider is the level of pace management adopted by the drivers, together with how much traffic they encountered at various stages of the race. That was particularly relevant with the Medium, because depending on their pace, some drivers were able to extend their first stint well beyond the window predicted by the strategy simulations, which opened up the possibility of using the Soft, as was the case with the aforementioned Tsunoda and Gasly.

“After four races in five weeks, Formula 1 takes a short break now, ahead of the triple-header in the Americas. But for our group, the work on track continues, with four days of testing which is only possible thanks to the vital support of the teams, in this case, Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren.”

Another clean sweep, her fourth of the season, for Abbi Pulling (Alpine-Rodin) who repeated her performance from yesterday in Race 1, dominating Race 2 from start to finish, this time also taking the extra point for setting the fastest race lap, something that eluded her yesterday. The podium featured the same players in the same order as yesterday’s prizegiving, namely Maya Weug (Scuderia Ferrari-Prema) in second and Doriane Pin (Mercedes-Prema) third.

Pulling will come to the penultimate round of the series with the title within her grasp. She has a 95 point advantage over Pin and with 112 points up for grabs, she only needs 16 to become the second ever F1 Academy champion. The teams’ title is much more uncertain: reigning champions Prema Racing have retaken the lead here in Singapore on 287 points, seven more than Rodin Motorsport, with Campos Racing third on 228.

The F1 Academy now has two test sessions on the circuits hosting the final two rounds of the season: at Yas Marina (Abu Dhabi) from 18 to 20 October and at Lusail (Qatar) from 12 to 14 November. The next round is on the same card as the Qatar Grand Prix from 29 November to 1^st December.

COMING UP NEXT FOR OUR TYRES

The World Championship now takes an unusual, if welcome, three week break prior to the final part of the season, starting with the United States Grand Prix, at Austin Texas from 18 to 20 October. However, in that time, Pirelli will still be busy on track with two test sessions planned for early October. On 1^st and 2^nd, Mercedes will be working with us at Magny-Cours, on 2025 tyre development, including one day given over to wet weather tyre work. Then, on 8^th and 9^th, three teams will be in action at the Mugello circuit: Red Bull for two days and Ferrari for one day will be working on next year’s tyres, while, for two days, McLaren will carry out the second development test of the 2026 prototype tyres.

Max Verstappen, lapped in 1’29”728 and will line up alongside Norris, having yet again missed out on pole at the Marina Bay circuit. The second row is an all-Mercedes affair, with Lewis Hamilton (1’29”841) ahead of team-mate George Russell by just 26 thousandths of a second. 

THE DAY ON TRACK 

The third free practice session was mainly given over to preparing for qualifying. Three drivers, Colapinto (Williams) and the Sauber duo of Bottas and Zhou, only ran the Soft tyre, thus saving two sets of Mediums for tomorrow’s race. The other 17 drivers used one set of Medium and one of Soft, with the Aston Martin duo carrying out their usual scrubbing in of Medium and Hard sets which they will keep as per the regulations for the race.

Obviously, the C5 was the only tyre used in qualifying. In Q1, some drivers managed to improve even on a second timed lap having first done a cooldown lap for the tyres, but actually, right from the latter part of the first phase, maximum performance was available right from the first attempt. For the seventh time this season, seven teams got at least one driver into Q3.

The Pirelli Pole Position Award was presented to Lando Norris by The Corrs. The famous Irish band first appeared on the scene in 1990, made up of sisters and brother, Andrea, Sharon, Caroline and Jim Corr. They are known for combining pop rock with more traditional forms of music from Ireland. With seven albums and over 40 million record sales around the world, the Corrs have topped the charts with hits including “Breathless,” “Runaway” and “What Can I Do.” In 1999, they won the Best International Group award at the BRITS.

MARIO ISOLA - PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“It was a very interesting day, starting with the third free practice session. Despite heavy rain falling for a long time last night, the track did not lose grip and during the 60 minutes, it continued to improve. The situation was different during the qualifying hour, when track evolution was very low, which explains why the quickest time from FP3, set by Norris in 1’29”646, was beaten by him by only 125 thousandths of a second. One has to keep in mind that the air is very humid here in Singapore and there was no track activity between the two Formula 1 sessions, which could also have had an impact on track surface condition.

“Looking ahead to tomorrow’s race, when a pit stop to change tyres costs around 28”, a one-stop is the obligatory choice. On paper, from an initial analysis, a Medium-Hard scenario is the quickest route, with a pit stop window between laps 21 and 27. The Soft has proved to be a viable option for the first stint, with an earlier stop between lap 14 and 19 to take on the Hard. Those starting between the midfield and the front of the grid could also consider starting on the Hard to go for the longest first stint possible, with an ideal pit stop window between laps 37 and 43.

“Having said all that, on this type of track, we have often seen, not least last year here, drivers and teams playing tactically with their race pace, especially on the first stint. Neutralisations and the weather are two other unknown factors that definitely have to be taken into consideration, but there is little one can do about those, apart from being ready to make the most of any opportunity that presents itself.”

Another win for Abbi Pulling in the first race of the weekend. The English Alpine-Rodin driver thus recorded her sixth victory from nine races, dominating proceedings from lights out to chequered flag. Second was Dutch racer Maya Weug (Scuderia Ferrari-Prema) just over two seconds behind, while France’s Doriane Pin (Mercedes-Prema) managed to snatch third by just two tenths, despite a five second penalty for a jumped start. There are just five races remaining, one tomorrow here in Singapore, then two each in Lusail and Abu Dhabi and Pulling seems to have the title within her grasp. Last year’s champion, Marta Garcia, was on hand yesterday to present the Englishwoman with a double Pirelli Pole Position Award, as she set the two fastest times in qualifying. Pulling has never finished off the podium and has 217 points, 82 more than Doriane Pin, with Weug up to third on 102 points, having overtaking the American Chloe Chambers (99 points, Haas-Campos) who finished fifth today.

Lando Norris was quickest come the end of the first day of the Singapore Grand Prix. The McLaren driver set his best time in the second session, stopping the clocks in 1’30”727, 58 thousandths quicker than second placed Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari: both drivers are already under last year’s pole position time set by Carlos Sainz (1’30”984).

The fact that the track is considerably quicker than a year ago was already evident in FP1, when the same two drivers topped the time sheet, but in the reverse order, first the Monegasque in 1’31”763, second the Englishman in 1’31”839, also quicker than last year’s Friday times.

In terms of tyre usage, the initial impression is very different to last Friday in Baku, even though the three dry tyre compounds are the same. In Azerbaijan, the white-banded Hard was barely seen, with only Alpine and Mercedes doing significant runs with them, whereas here all the drivers used a set of C3s: 13 in the first session, seven in the second.

The “colour chart” on the long runs was also varied, with all three compounds used in race simulations for Sunday, even the Soft which usually does not see much use in the race.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“A day that could be described as normal. Two hours of free practice went off without a hitch, with all teams trying all three available compounds, also with different fuel loads. From what we saw today, there was no graining, not even on the Soft, which could open the door to its eventual use on Sunday. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how the teams tackle the third free practice sessions while there’s the mandatory selection of the Hard and a Medium, some could choose to hold back two Mediums while others might prefer having an extra set of new Softs for qualifying.

“The track proved to be considerably quicker than last year, to the extent that the 2023 pole time has already been beaten. Apart from the inevitable improvement in car performance from one year to the next, it could also be down to the fact that the track, at least on the racing line, has been cleaned with high-pressure jet washers, which means the track surface offers better performance and is much cleaner. However, lap times will continue to come down as the track rubbers in, so it is conceivable that in qualifying we could even get below the 1’29”200 predicted for pole by the simulations provided by the teams going into this Grand Prix.

“One unknown factor could be the weather, as one can never rule out heavy showers here, straddling the Equator, which could see a reset of track conditions and a loss of the grip built up so far.”

For the Formula 1 Pirelli United States Grand Prix 2024, which takes place in Austin from 18 to 20 October, the following compounds will be used: C2 as P Zero White hard, C3 as P Zero Yellow medium and C4 as P Zero Red soft, the same selection as last year.

Mexico City (25-27 October) and Sao Paolo (1-3 November) will both feature the three softest compounds in the range: C3 as P Zero White hard, C4 as P Zero Yellow medium and C5 as P Zero Red soft. While the choice for the circuit dedicated to the memory of the Rodriguez brothers, Pedro and Ricardo, is identical to that in 2023, moving onto the Interlagos track, it represents a change. In Brazil in 2023, the teams could use the C2 as Hard, the C3 as Medium and the C4 as Soft. The hardest of these was never used, with all drivers running a two stop race alternating the Medium and Soft. One step softer therefore should offer more strategy choices. Furthermore, there is some resurfacing work being carried out at the Brazilian track which adds another set of unknown factors. Friday will therefore be more important than ever to evaluate tyre behaviour, while keeping in mind that grip levels will change very quickly over the course of the whole weekend.

Here on the Equator, the dry weather compounds chosen for the 15^th running of the Singapore Grand Prix are the same as last year’s and in fact the same as at the past two races at Monza and Baku, on tracks each with very different characteristics: C3 as Hard, C4 as Medium and C5 as Soft.

The circuit was modified last year with the aim of making it flow better, but it is still one of the twistiest of the season. Its length is now down to 4.940 kilometres so that the number of laps has been increased to 62. In the final sector, between what used to include turns 16 to 19, a 400 metre straight has replaced them so that the number of corners has been reduced from 23 to 19. Last year, the work of resurfacing the track began and this year the sections between turns 3 and 9, 10 and 12 and 14 and 17 have also been resurfaced. The bitumen should be similar to that used on public roads generally open to city traffic, but with new asphalt one can expect a smoother surface. One does not usually learn much from the first free practice session, but this time it will give everyone the opportunity to acquire important data relating to tyre behaviour.

As with all street circuits, the slightest mistake in Singapore comes at a high price, given there are very few run-off areas and running a fraction off-line can see you in the barriers. Therefore the Safety Car is a common sight here, especially as it takes quite a while to remove a stricken car from the track. There are a couple of factors that make the one-stop the only valid strategy: firstly, the time lost for a tyre change pit stop is around 28 seconds, partly because the pit lane speed limit is reduced to 60 km/h and secondly, overtaking on this track is definitely complicated. A two-stop need only be considered in the event of the race being neutralised.

Usually, the Soft is purely a qualifying tyre, with the race laps split between the Medium and the Hard. However, last year the C5 played its part on Sunday, especially in the first stint with drivers wanting to make the most of its extra grip at the start. Degradation at this track is mainly down to thermal stress, not so much on the surface of the tyre, but within it, something one does not see that often and that varies a lot depending on car set-up and the aerodynamic load the cars generate.

At the Marina Bay circuit we have often seen first stints where the drivers are trying to go as long as they can, managing their tyres with the aim of balancing the two stints as much as possible. This often leads to the formation of a train of cars, all running nose to tail, unable to overtake because there is not enough of a performance difference, this despite the track having three DRS zones. Therefore, in an effort to produce more on-track action, the FIA has decided to introduce a fourth DRS zone for this weekend, between turns 14 and 16 and we will have to wait until Sunday to see if it produces the desired result.

Adding to the unpredictable nature of this race is the weather. Sitting astride the Equator, Singapore’s climate does not vary, with high humidity, rarely below 70%, with the chance of rain showers, some very heavy, at any time of the day or night.

This was the first ever Grand Prix to be run at night under floodlights and, visually, it has always provided a great show. As usual on a tight track, qualifying is almost the most important factor when it comes to the race result, which explains why nine of the 14 races held to date have been won from pole position. The King of Singapore is Sebastian Vettel, who won here five times, on four occasions from pole, while his total podium tally is eight. With the German quitting the sport in 2022, he could lose his crown to Lewis Hamilton who has the same number of poles and four wins to date, while he is also closing in on the German’s record for top three finishes, with seven.

Three other drivers still racing have also won at Marina Bay: Fernando Alonso has done so twice and Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez have one victory apiece, while another retiree, Nico Rosberg also won here once. Of the teams, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes lead the way, level on four wins, while Ferrari has the lion’s share of pole positions with seven to its name. As for podium places, it’s the blue of Red Bull that leads the way with 14 top three finishes.

Piastri picked up 25 points today and Lando Norris brought home 13, which means McLaren now leads the Constructors’ championship, the first time the Woking-based team has done so since the opening round of the 2014 season in Australia.

THE DAY ON TRACK   

The majority of drivers (14) opted to start on the Medium tyre. The Hard was chosen by Lando Norris (McLaren), Alexander Albon (Williams), Daniel Ricciardo (Racing Bulls), Zhou Guanyu (Sauber) and both Alpine drivers (Ocon and Gasly). As expected, the one-stop strategy proved the most effective in terms of tyre management: only two drivers, Stroll and Verstappen, pitted twice, but in these cases the stops were not for strategic reasons: The Canadian had a puncture as a result of a collision with Tsunoda on the opening lap and the Dutchman pitted again because he tried to set the race fastest lap in the closing stages, able to come down pit lane without losing position.

The longest stint of all was driven by Pierre Gasly (Alpine), who completed 50 laps on the Hard, only pitting on the penultimate lap to switch to Softs. As for the Medium, Alex Albon made the most use of it, doing a long 20 lap second stint on the C4.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“A fortnight on from the Italian Grand Prix, we have been treated to another really thrilling race, with the outcome unclear from the first lap to the last. In Monza we saw two different strategies in play, but today, almost everyone went with the same choice, but in no way did that detract from the on-track action, with a long three way fight for the lead, as well as several others battles throughout the race.

“For this weekend and indeed the next one, we have gone with the same choice of dry compounds, which worked as expected, adapting very well to the track characteristics and conditions. Going into the event, the Soft was clearly going to be a qualifying tyre and the Hard the quickest for the race, with the Medium as a great compromise for the first part of the race: between yesterday and today we saw those predictions confirmed.

“Even today, the track continued to rubber-in. It meant the lap times continued to improve and degradation was pretty limited. A few drivers experienced graining, especially in the first stint, but it did not significantly affect their performance. Clearly, running in traffic made life complicated in terms of tyre management, but that is pretty much inevitable with the current aerodynamic configuration of these cars.”

FORMULA 2

A bittersweet win for Richard Verschoor in the Feature Race. The Dutch Trident team driver came out on top in a race that was interrupted immediately because of a spectacular accident at the start. Fortunately, no one was injured, but the race distance was reduced from 29 to 17 laps. The Italian team dedicated the win to its owner, Maurizio Salvadori on the day that his son Luca was tragically killed in a motorcycle race.

Also on the podium were Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix) and Kimi Antonelli (Prema Racing) while thanks to finishing fourth this morning and taking the extra point for the fastest race lap, Brazil’s Gabriel Bortoleto (Invicta Racing) has moved into the championship lead, 4.5 points ahead of France’s Isack Hadjar (Campos Racing) who left Azerbaijan with no points this weekend.

It is difficult to evaluate the performance of the two compounds Pirelli chose for this round because of the reduced race distance and the arrival of the Safety Car with two minutes remaining of the time allowed for the race. For the start, only three drivers chose the Soft, with the rest of the field going with the Supersoft, which allowed them to push for almost all the first half of the reduced race distance.

COMING UP NEXT FOR OUR TYRES

Next week, Formula 1 is back in action in Singapore for the 18^th round of the longest season in the sport’s history. However, before that, there’s an early nod to the 2026 season in Barcelona (Spain) on Tuesday, 17^th and Wednesday, 18^th September. The Barcelona-Catalunya circuit will host the debut test of the first prototype tyres built to the new technical regulations – still 18” but slightly narrower than the current ones. Aston Martin is supporting Pirelli for this test, with a car adapted to take the new size of tyre. Driving duties for the two days are entrusted to the Brazilian, Felipe Drugovich.

Leclerc’s 1’41”365 put over three tenths between himself and second placed Oscar Piastri (1’41”686 for McLaren) and was 44 hundredths quicker than team-mate Carlos Sainz, third in 1’41”805.

THE DAY ON TRACK 

It wasn’t just Ferrari that made red the day’s dominant colour as the Soft tyre was practically the only compound used across the third free practice session and in qualifying. One exception was down to the now usual habit of scrubbing-in tyres for the race adopted by the trio of teams, Aston Martin, Racing Bulls and Sauber and the other was Mercedes whose drivers tackled at least one run on the Medium in Q1.

There were also a couple of red flags that reduced track time in FP3 and that meant no teams managed to do long runs with a heavy fuel load in preparation for the race.

Leclerc was presented with the Pirelli Pole Position Award by the Colombian singer J Balvin. The reggaeton singer is one of the most successful Latin artists in the world, with record sales of over 35 million. J Balvin has won five Billboard Latin Music Awards and has worked with Beyoncé, Pharrell Williams, Camila Cabelo, David Guetta and Cardi B. The single “Mi Gente”, with Willy William, is one of his best known songs.

MARIO ISOLA - PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“It really seems as though Leclerc has a special feeling for this track as it’s not often you see a driver take four consecutive poles at the same Grand Prix!

“Once again today we saw the track get quicker and quicker the more laps the cars did, but we are still a long way off, not just the time expected from the teams’ simulations of 1’39”4, but also far from last year’s pole (1’40”203), which shows there is still room for more track evolution during the race.

“In terms of strategy, on paper, the one-stop is definitely the quickest option at this track, with Medium and Hard the most suitable for the 51 lap race. A two-stop only becomes credible if there is a Safety Car in the second half of the race and that’s probably why many drivers have held back two sets of C3 for tomorrow afternoon. Theoretically, based on an initial look at the data, the first stop should come between laps 13 and 20 for those who opt to start on the Medium, while those who leave the grid on Hards should pit between laps 32 and 38. Clearly, a neutralisation could lead to a run of pit stops, as we saw last year for example. One factor to consider will be graining, given that the track is still very dirty.”

FORMULA 2

Joshua Duerksen (AIX Racing) produced a great drive, going from fourth to first in the Sprint race to take his first win in the category. The Paraguayan was victorious in a race that saw plenty of overtaking and incidents, crossing the line over three seconds ahead of second placed Jak Crawford (DAMS Lucas Oil) while, on his debut in this category, Gabriele Minì (PREMA Racing) fended off Victor Martins all the way to the flag to claim third place.

Thermal degradation on the Soft tyre was consistent and increased significantly towards half-distance. A Safety Car further complicated the situation for some drivers, especially those who had pushed a lot in the early stages. They then struggled to get the front axle up to temperature because of graining and were thus vulnerable to being overtaken in the closing stages.

THE DAY ON TRACK

In terms of tyre use, it was confirmed that the Soft would not be an option for the race. The fact that only Alpine in FP1 and Mercedes in FP2 used a set of Hards with each of their drivers, meaning that the other eight teams saved all theirs for the rest of the weekend, demonstrates that the C3 is the tyre best suited for the race, which is totally in line with our predictions. The track evolution was very significant as the cars - F2 as well as F1 - put in the laps. Therefore, when looking at the times one has to also take this parameter into consideration.

SIMONE BERRA – CHIEF ENGINEER

“The two hours of practice were rather difficult to interpret, especially because of the track condition. We had already seen after taking track surface measurements on Wednesday that the grip level was lower than last year’s and also differed from one section of track to another and that was confirmed today once the cars started running. Lap times dropped very quickly, but they are still a way off those recorded in last year’s one and only free practice session, when Baku hosted the first Sprint format weekend of 2023, but also slower than those from earlier simulations. Why? It’s impossible to give a definitive answer but this may have been down to the fact the asphalt was not treated as it had been last year, as could be seen by the amount of dirt kicked up by the cars.

“We noticed some graining on the tyres over a long run, but not to a particularly high degree and we believe that, as the track rubbers in, its incidence will decrease. In terms of strategy, this is usually a race run in two parts, featuring the Medium and the Hard tyres, while the Soft is clearly a qualifying tyre. Therefore, that explains why eight of the ten teams kept both their sets of Hards, not so much because they are considering a two-stop, but to cover any eventual neutralisation and thus make the most of the tyre that’s the most competitive over a long distance.”

FORMULA 2

Richard Verschoor (Trident) secured pole position for the Feature Race just getting ahead of Kimi Antonelli (Prema) at the end: 1’54”857 for the Dutchman, 1’54”874 for the Italian in a session that was interrupted several times.

This year, there’s a change of compound for the Azerbaijan weekend. In order to provide a higher level of grip and to facilitate getting the tyres up to the right operating temperature, the P Zero Yellow medium used in 2023 has been replaced with the P Zero Red soft. This means there is no longer a jump in the compound choice as the other tyre is once again the P Zero purple supersoft. Drivers will probably have to deal with thermal degradation across the rear axle and those who manage this best will reap the reward in the closing stages of both races. Track evolution will be very significant from one session to the next and, when it comes to strategy for the Feature Race, it will be important to keep a close eye on the performance of the Supersoft, possibly for its eventual use in a stint of around a dozen laps.

As usual for a street circuit Pirelli has chosen the three softest dry compounds in the range, namely the C3 as Hard, the C4 as Medium and the C5 as Soft. The track is 6.003 kilometres in length and has remained pretty much unchanged since 2016, featuring 20 corners. Some of these, such as the first seven, are practically right angle turns, while others through the old part of the city are very slow and some are flat out, as they are part of a section of track that is treated as a two kilometre straight leading across the start-finish line. The track varies a lot in width, going from only seven metres at turn 8 to being wide enough to accommodate three cars abreast down the main straight.

As the circuit is normally open to city traffic, track evolution will be an important factor to consider when evaluating performance, while the weather can also play its part. Usually, it is quite hot in September, with temperatures definitely higher than those experienced when the race was held in April. Furthermore, track temperature can vary significantly depending on which parts are in sunlight or in the shade from the surrounding buildings, especially in the section that runs through the old city. Last but not least, the wind can upset the car’s handling and, coming from different directions, can catch the drivers unawares, as it is channelled by the surrounding buildings of the town.

The fastest ever top speed by a Formula 1 car in an official event was set in Baku, when Valtteri Bottas was clocked at 378 km/h in his Williams-Mercedes during qualifying for the inaugural event in 2016. The high speeds reached on the main straight will put the tyres to the test, especially with the downforce generated by the current cars. With another section of track requiring the opposite aero set-up, the teams cannot opt to run too low a downforce level as they would then suffer in the slowest part of the track, where they will rely on tyre-generated grip to get the most out of the car. Fortunately, the current Pirelli range has proved to be up to the task of dealing with these extremes of use.

When it comes to strategy, Baku is a typical one-stop race with the hardest tyre doing most of the work. Although a glance at the circuit layout might lead one to believe that overtaking is relatively straightforward, that is not at all the case. Given the hierarchy of the teams this year, with the performance differences within the two main groups being minimal, the effectiveness of DRS could play an important role, as will a team’s ability to react to the unexpected on a track where the chances of the race being neutralised are very high. In 2023, almost all drivers started the race on the Medium before switching to the Hard when the Safety Car came out on lap 11.

Sergio Perez is the only driver to have won here more than once. The Mexican won in Baku in 2021 and 2023, last time out also winning the Sprint, proving he clearly has an affinity for this type of track, as six of his seven Formula 1 wins have come on street circuits. If Checo is the king of Baku, Charles Leclerc can be said to be its prince of poles, as the Monegasque has secured the number one grid slot for the past three years from 2021 to 2023 and last year, he was also fastest in the Sprint Shootout. When it comes to the teams, the roles are reversed with Red Bull having the most wins (four) but no pole positions, while Ferrari has four poles, one of which courtesy of Sebastian Vettel, but it has never won. Indeed, the Italian team has only made it to the podium four times, while Mercedes and Red Bull have each done so on six occasions.

Leclerc took the chequered flag ahead of the two McLaren drivers, beating Oscar Piastri by 2”664 and Lando Norris by 6”153. These three had the honour of wearing the special edition of the Podium Cap, in white with the Italian flag on its peak. They can be aquired at this link.

The three drivers and Ferrari’s Sporting Director, Diego Ioverno were all presented with a VROOOM trophy, designed by the artist Andrea Sala, through the now usual collaboration between Pirelli and Pirelli HangarBicocca at the Italian Grand Prix.

The race saw a repeat of the qualifying scenario in that the top four teams occupied the top eight places, with the last two points positions going to Alex Albon, ninth for Williams and Kevin Magnussen tenth for Haas.

THE DAY ON TRACK   

At the start, the majority (14) of the drivers went with the Medium. The Hards were chosen by the two Red Bulls, Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) and Valtteri Bottas (Sauber). Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver not to make it to the chequered flag. Of the remaining 19, nine pitted once, ten did two or more (Stroll, three).

Daniel Ricciardo (Racing Bulls) ran the longest stint of all, completing 42 laps on the Hard. Esteban Ocon led the way on the Medium, running a 21 lap second stint on the C4.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“A really exciting race followed by an amazing show from the fans. The enthusiasm of the Monza crowd is incredible and contagious, and really gives one goosebumps. Congratulations to Charles Leclerc and Ferrari, as winning this Grand Prix must be an incredible feeling for them.

“On the technical front, this was a Grand Prix that had it all: battles on track between the drivers with some spectacular overtaking moves, such as Piastri’s on Norris and a strategic confrontation between those who had opted to stop twice and those on a one-stop.

 “We said prior to the event that the one-stop would be the quickest and that proved to be correct. The fact that nearly all the teams had kept two sets of Hards for the race gave them the flexibility to go with different scenarios if necessary. One should keep in mind that no one had sufficient data to fully evaluate the C3 performance on the completely new track surface.

“Management of graining was key and it was probably affected by the track evolution. Initial analysis of the data and the visual checks of the tyres at the end of each stint showed that graining was very significant in the first part of the race, especially on the front left, but less so on the left rear, with both the Hard and Medium, while in the following stints the phenomenon was less present. A vital factor therefore was the drivers’ feeling during the race and their ability to manage the tyres, especially for those who stuck with the strategy they had opted for at the start, namely the one-stop.”

FORMULA 2

Gabriel Bortoleto (Invicta Racing) put on a great show, going from last on the grid to the top step of the podium in the Feature Race. The Brazilian made the most of a Safety Car period to make his pit stop and go into the lead, which he then kept to the flag. It was his second win of the season and he was joined on the podium by the Barbadian Zane Maloney (Rodin Motorsport) and Dutchman Richard Verschoor (Trident).

The majority of drivers started on the Supersoft, banking on the appearance of a Safety Car shortly after lap six, when the performance of the softest compound was theoretically still good enough. Ten cars pitted between the sixth and seventh laps but were then caught out as the Safety Car came out next time round and those, like Bortoleto, who had yet to pit enjoyed a huge advantage. The winner has now put himself right back in the fight for the title, especially as Isaak Hadjar (Campos Racing) failed to score in either race this weekend. They are now split by 10.5 points with three rounds remaining, in Baku, Lusail and Yas Marina.

FORMULA 3

The final race of the season turned out to be exciting and spectacular all the way to the chequered flag, not only in the fight for the win, but more importantly in terms of the four-way battle for the championship title, between the two Italians (Leonardo Fornaroli and Gabriele Minì) and two British drivers (Luke Browning and Arvid Lindblad). In the end, it came down to an Italian duel, with the outcome decided just a few hundred metres from the finish line. France’s Sami Meguetonif (Trident) actually won the Feature Race, while alongside him on the podium was Mini, second for Prema Racing and Fornaroli third for Trident. However, in terms of the title race, the positions were reversed with Fornaroli crowned champion, the gap between them just two points (150 to 148). The key move was the new champion’s last lap pass on Australia’s Christian Mansell going into the Parabolica.

Hours after the end of the race, a series of decisions from the Stewards changed the race result and, at least in terms of points, the state of the championship. Mini was disqualified for a technical infringement because of tyre pressures that were too low. The Italian thus lost second place in the race but not in the championship, where he now leads Browning by two points, 130 to 128. Thus Fornaroli was classified second in the Feature Race, with Mansell promoted to third.

When it came to the tyres, their behaviour was in line with what had been seen in the Sprint Race. Obviously, today’s race being five laps longer meant there was a more significant drop in performance in the closing stages. Those who had done the better job of managing the tyres in the first part then enjoyed an advantage over the final kilometres.

COMING UP NEXT FOR OUR TYRES

Formula 1 action continues next week at the Monza circuit, with two days of development testing focussed on tyre compounds for next season. Three teams will be providing cars and drivers for this important work for 2025: on Tuesday 3 September, George Russell will be on track in the Mercedes and Liam Lawson will drive a Red Bull. On the Wednesday, the New Zealander will switch to driving a Racing Bulls car.

Lando Norris came out on top to secure his fifth pole position, the fourth this season and the second in a row after taking the number one slot in Zandvoort a week ago. The McLaren driver’s best time was a 1’19”327. He was followed by team-mate Oscar Piastri (1’19”436). This was the Woking team’s 160^th pole position and its first front row lockout at the Italian Grand Prix since 2012, on that occasion with Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. On the second row, we find the Mercedes of George Russell (1’19”440) and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc (1’19”461). Just two other drivers got under the 1’20” barrier, Carlos Sainz (Ferrari, 1’19”467) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes, 1’19”513). Behind them, there’s a gap of over half a second to the Red Bull pair of Max Verstappen (1’20”022) ahead of Sergio Perez (1’20”062).

The Pirelli Pole Position Award was presented to Norris by Javier Zanetti, the Vice-president of FC Internazionale Milano and former player and flag bearer for the aforementioned team. The Argentinian’s career featured five Italian championships, four Coppa Italia and the same number of Supercoppa Italiana wins, one Champions League title, one UEFA Cup and Clubs World Cup, all playing for Inter, for whom he made a record 858 appearances.

THE DAY ON TRACK 

Again in the third free practice session, the C3 was hardly used: only Aston Martin, Racing Bulls and Sauber scrubbed in their available sets (Tsunoda just the one, while Zhou just did an installation lap with a set). It is further confirmation that the hardest of the three compounds Pirelli has brought to Monza is the most suitable for the race.

In qualifying, the Soft dominated proceedings, proving to be the perfect compound for a flying lap at this track, providing maximum performance on the first timed lap. However, some drivers managed to improve even on used sets, but that was more down to track evolution than to the C5’s ability to recover performance even on a longer run.

MARIO ISOLA - PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“A great qualifying session, very closely contested by this season’s top four teams with the championship looking more open than ever. McLaren confirmed it has the most versatile car at this point in the season, taking pole at the very tight and twisty Zandvoort, in rather cool conditions and now at the Temple of Speed on a typically hot Italian summer’s day.

“In fact, temperatures will play an important role in the race, with conditions tomorrow forecast to be similar to today’s and that definitely won’t help teams and drivers when it comes to tyre management. Graining could still be a factor, which could open the door to a possible two-stop strategy. That is why, apart from ensuring they have an additional option in the event of a neutralisation, all the drivers, with the exception of Tsunoda, have chosen to keep two sets of Hards for the race. On paper, the very long Monza pit lane usually means that a one-stop is almost obligatory here: so a strategy based on using one set of the C4 and one of the C3, stopping between laps 20 and 26 is the quickest. Although the opposite usage would work for those thinking of running a longer first stint, stopping between laps 26 and 32. This year however, a two-stop cannot be ruled out, running one set of Medium and two of Hard. Honestly, I think everyone will try and run a one-stop, trying to manage the tyres especially in the opening laps of each stint to avoid stressing them too much, while aware they have a Plan B up their sleeve thanks to having two sets of Hard.

“Finally, I’m pleased to report that our simulations prior to qualifying as to the pole position times (1’19”1, in cooler temperatures than were actually experienced) were substantially proved to be correct, even in unusual circumstances, as we had very little data available relating to the track surface as it was completely new.”

FORMULA 2

The Sprint Race produced a second win of the season for Englishman Oliver Bearman (Prema Racing) who started from eighth on the grid. He was joined on the podium in second and third places respectively by France’s Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix) and Dutchman Joshua Durksen (AIX Racing). Worth noting that Brazil’s Gabriel Bortoleto (Invicta Racing) and Norway’s Dennis Hauger (MP Motorsport) finished eighth equal, thus picking up a half point each as they could not be split, even with timing to the nearest thousandth of a second as they took the chequered flag.

The Medium is by nature a relatively conservative compound and the new track surface accentuated this characteristic. Degradation and wear was minimal which meant the drivers were able to set their fastest laps in the closing stages of the race. For tomorrow it will therefore be very important to understand how the Supersoft will work and when best to use it.

FORMULA 3

Tim Tramnitz (MP Motorsport) won the Sprint race, having started from pole position. The German crossed the line ahead of Colombian Sebastian Montoya (Campos Racing) who had to fend off the attentions of Mexican Santiago Ramos (Trident) who joined them on the podiumThe Colombian was given a penalty after the race which dropped him to eleventh place. It meant third place thus went to Ireland’s Alex Dunne (MP Motorsport).

There was a very closely contested midfield battle between the title contenders, with Luke Browning (Hitech Pulse-Eight) working his way up to sixth, while Leonardo Fornaroli (Trident) and Gabriele Mini (Prema Racing) picked up valuable points in eighth and ninth places respectively. These three, along with Arvid Lindblad (Prema Racing) will fight it out for the championship crown in tomorrow’s Feature Race.

The new surface offered better grip and so there was not much graining, but thermal degradation was still significant. Those who managed it most efficiently had the upper hand in the closing stages.

Lewis Hamilton was quickest overall in 1’20”738 in his Mercedes, followed by Lando Norris in the McLaren who was just a whisker off, with three thousandths separating the two cars. Confirming how close the gaps this season continue to be, the fastest five, who are the only ones to get under the 1’21” barrier, are covered by a mere 154 thousandths of a second: behind the previously mentioned top two came Carlos Sainz (Ferrari, 1’20”841), Oscar Piastri (McLaren, 1’20”858) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari, 1’20”892). Andrea Kimi Antonelli made his first appearance in an official Formula 1 session. However, the Mercedes driver only did five laps before crashing into the barriers at the Parabolica. Also making his debut, Franco Colapinto is now an official Williams race driver, after driving in FP1 at Silverstone, with the same team. The last time an Argentinian raced in Formula 1 dates back to the 2001 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, when Gaston Mazzacane drove for Prost.

THE DAY ON TRACK

The C3 has not made many friends so far this weekend. Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) was the only driver to use the Hard over the first two hours of free practice. All 19 other drivers preferred to save the hardest of the three compounds for the coming days, most likely for Sunday. So the Medium and Softs did most of the work, with the C4 preferred over the long runs in the second session, by almost all drivers because the C5 has shown itself to be a qualifying tyre.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“There have been plenty of interesting points this Friday. The big unknown going into the weekend was the state of the all new track surface, which is the main novelty of this Italian Grand Prix. From what we could see today, we can say that the results of prior simulations were generally confirmed, with a very significant level of adhesive grip. This factor, combined with this track requiring a low aerodynamic load, may have accentuated the graining effect which was quite marked on both compounds used. Obviously, we have no real indications regarding the Hard, as just one driver used it to complete only 17 laps. However, this is a clear indication of the direction in which the teams might go with regard to tyre usage over the rest of the weekend. At this track, the length of the pit lane and the time taken to change tyres means that a two-stop strategy comes with quite a penalty, so the most likely scenario is that the teams will still try to manage the Medium and the Hard so as to do just one pit stop, keeping a second hard set for a potential Plan B if degradation because of graining is still very significant in the race.

“It is therefore a question of graining: we will have to see how the track evolves as from tomorrow morning, the more laps the Formula 1 cars and those of the other categories do and the track rubbers in. Another important factor to consider will be the temperatures. It was very hot today with the track reaching 54 °C, theoretically at about the time of the middle of the race on Sunday. Such high temperatures could have a further impact on degradation. We have seen that the track is quicker than last year and it became even more so during the sessions, more significantly during FP1, a bit less so in FP2. It will be interesting to see what will happen in this regard tomorrow, starting in FP3.”

FORMULA 2

Zane Maloney (Rodin Motorsport) was quickest in qualifying. The Barbadian driver set a time of 1’32”160, 89 thousandths faster than Frenchman Isack Hadjar (Campos Racing).

Pirelli has brought the same pair of compounds as last year which skips one compound. Available to the teams are the P Zero Yellow medium and the P Zero Purple supersoft. The first point to make, is that in common with all the categories on track, any predictions about tyre performance were rendered complicated by the all-new surface, with all the unknown factors that entails. The Medium tyre will be the choice for the Sprint Race, as drivers will be able to exploit all its performance almost all the way to the chequered flag, with any significant degradation only making itself felt in the last few laps. For the Feature Race, it is likely that the majority of teams will start on the Supersoft before switching to the Medium when the pit stop window opens.

FORMULA 3

Leonardo Fornaroli has secured his third Formula 3 pole position, which could prove key in the title fight. The Trident driver finished the session as the quickest in Group A, to secure the number one slot on the grid ahead of MP Motorsport’s Alex Dunne, who was fastest in Group B. The closest rival in the championship, Gabriele Mini will be right behind them, third on the grid for the PREMA Racing team.

For the Monza weekend, the final round of this exciting championship, the chosen compound is the P Zero Red soft, with a carry-over from the previous round at Spa-Francorchamps of the P Zero Yellow medium, which can only be used during free practice. However, the use of the harder tyre could see teams not gathering sufficient data relating to how the Soft performs on the new surface which, on paper, should offer more grip but also lead to higher degradation, and maybe even the appearance of graining: all factors that could make the situation even more uncertain.

Ever since 2021, the trophy for the Italian Grand Prix, of which Pirelli is the title sponsor, has been designed by an artist through a collaboration with Pirelli HangarBicocca. This year, the task was entrusted to Andrea Sala, a highly respected artist in the contemporary art world, whose work is found in important museums and private collections and who has always explored the relationship between art and the history of Italian design and industrial manufacturing. The work of art he designed, entitled VROOOM represents, in abstract form, the long history of Pirelli tyres, combined with impressions of speed and acceleration. The main part of the trophy, four of which have been produced for the three drivers and the winning team representative, is made from Valchromat with a chromed aluminium base.

“The ideation and concept for the trophy resulted from a series of site visits to many areas of the Pirelli world, from R&D departments, to the production process to discover more about the world of tyres, from the natural rubber to the materials used in their construction, as well as looking through the Pirelli Foundation archive,” explained Sala. “The name VROOOM captures what I wanted to represent, namely the image of Formula 1 I have always had since I was a child: the start, the cars lined up on the grid, the lights going out and the sprint down to the first corner. The trophy transforms this moment – the starting point for everything, the sprint, the speed – into a sculpture.”

The VROOOM trophies will be on display at the Pirelli Tyres Talk event for press only, on Friday 30 August in the Pirelli Hot Laps garage (pit boxes 7 and 8) just prior to the first free practice session. Attending the event, along with the artist, will be Nikolas Tombazis, FIA Single-Seater Director and Mario Isola, Motorsport Director of Pirelli.

Another new element for the FORMULA 1 PIRELLI GRAN PREMIO D’ITALIA 2024, will be a special edition of the Podium Cap, which as was the case this year in Miami, Montreal and Silverstone, will feature the Italian national flag.

The third and, from a purely technical point of view, most important change for this year’s Italian Grand Prix concerns the asphalt. The circuit has embarked on a process of renovation and modernisation of its facility, aimed at ensuring its future and part of the first phase of this work has been the complete resurfacing of the entire track. In addition, some of the underpasses have been changed: the one at Santa Maria delle Selve and the two on the straight between the Ascari chicane and the Parabolica, along with building a brand new one linking the Vedano entrance to the Parabolica, aimed at keeping pedestrians and vehicles apart. In addition, the circuit’s water collection and drainage systems have been refurbished.

The work involved a crew of 240 and 92 vehicles. Once it was completed, in early August a team of Pirelli engineers carried out an inspection of the new surface, sharing the data with the FIA and the teams, in preparation for the final European round of the Formula 1 season. As is usually the case with newly-laid asphalt, the surface is smoother than its predecessor and darker in colour. This latter factor will have an impact on track temperature, which if the sun is shining could see it get hotter than in the past, even reaching significant highs of over 50 °C. In theory, the new surface should offer more grip, which will impact tyre performance and their operating temperature range. It is highly likely that track evolution will be very high over the course of the weekend, as the various categories racing at this event rack up the laps.

At Monza, cars usually run in the lowest aerodynamic configuration of the season to reduce drag, in order to favour top speed. Stability under braking and traction coming out of the two chicanes are the factors that most test the tyres and, in addition, the lateral loads in the fast corners, such as the Parabolica, now named in honour of Michele Alboreto and the Curva Grande, should not be underestimated. For this year’s event, the three dry compounds selected are the same as in 2023: C3 as Hard, C4 as Medium and C5 as Soft.

This is a track where the time needed for a pit stop is one of the longest of the year so, on paper, a one-stop strategy is quickest. In free practice, it will be important to evaluate what effect the new surface might have on tyre behaviour over a long run, both in terms of performance and of degradation. Last year, the race was very linear, with the two hardest compounds being the clear choice. 17 of the 20 drivers chose to start on the C4, while only three – Hamilton, Bottas and Magnussen – preferred the C3. 14 drivers pitted just the once, six pitted twice, although in Piastri’s case that was down to the need to change the front wing after a collision with Hamilton. The remaining five - Gasly, Zhou, Lawson, Hulkenberg e Magnussen – adopted this strategy because the drop in performance from the tyres was already too high in the first stint.

The Italian Grand Prix has been a permanent fixture on the Formula 1 World Championship calendar since its inception, making this year’s event the 75^th edition. It has been run at Monza every year with the exception of the 1980 race, which was held at Imola. Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton have won here the most, with five victories apiece, followed by Nelson Piquet on 4. When it comes to pole positions, Hamilton leads the way on 7, followed by Juan Manuel Fangio and Ayrton Senna with 5 each. Hamilton and Schumacher also share top honours when it comes to podium finishes with 8, while Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso are joint third on 6. Ferrari tops the table for team wins on 19, pole positions with 23 and 17 podium finishes. Actually, the Scuderia is not the only Italian team to have triumphed at home. The Faenza-based team has raced under a license issued by the Italian Automobile Club since it was first known as Minardi, all the way through to its current incarnation as Visa CashApp Racing Bulls. Under its Toro Rosso banner it won in Monza courtesy of Sebastian Vettel in 2008 and again in 2020, when known as AlphaTauri it took its second and only other win to date with Pierre Gasly at the wheel.

PIRELLI 2024 FORMULA 1 ITALIAN GRAN PRIX trophy designed by Andrea Sala: VROOOM, 2024. Commissioned by Pirelli in collaboration with Pirelli HangarBicocca. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Agostino Osio.

This was McLaren’s 186^th win, the third this season. In fourth place, Oscar Piastri is the only driver to have completed all 917 laps of this season’s races so far.

THE DAY ON TRACK   

16 drivers chose to line up on the grid on the Medium, while three – Hamilton, Tsunoda and Bottas – opted for the Soft and Magnussen started from pit lane on the Hard. Three quarters of the drivers ran a one-stop race, fitting the Hard as their second set (Magnussen switched to the Medium). The Mercedes drivers made two stops, with Hamilton using two sets of C3 and Russell one, while Tsunoda, Bottas and Zhou used all three available compounds and Albon used to sets of C2 split by one stint on the Hard.

Hulkenberg produced the longest stint of the race, doing 57 laps on the Hard. The prize on the Medium goes to Piastri (33 laps), while Hamilton did 24 on the Soft.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“A very intense race, where we witnessed one driver and one team – Lando Norris and McLaren – demonstrate clear superiority over his rivals and team-mate. Behind him, there was a great battle within the two groups of teams which have emerged this season: the leading group, made up of McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes and the rest of the field, all fighting for the remaining points.

“In terms of strategy, we had our predictions going into the race confirmed, namely that the one-stop was the quickest option. From the small amount of data acquired during free practice and based on earlier simulations, we expected to see more cars run the Soft to benefit from its performance advantage over the Medium, but probably, the majority of teams decided to tackle the first stint more cautiously given there was not much information available to them. In fact, the Soft proved to be up to the task, as was evident with Hamilton, as he was the driver who made up the most places from his grid position, starting on the C3 and then opting to use it again for his third stint.”

Abbie Pulling leaves Zandvoort with a points haul of 43, more than any of the other F1 Academy drivers competing in this the fourth of seven rounds of the second season of this series. The Alpine-Rodin driver took pole for Race 1 which she then went on to win and she finished third in Race 2. The English girl thus extends her lead in the championship on 190 points, 71 more than Doriane Pin. The French Mercedes-Prema driver won Race 2, having started from pole. She had crossed the line in second place in the first race, but was then relegated to fifth with a penalty for a jumped start. The Ferrari-Prema driver, Maya Weug, twice finished on the podium, third in Race 1 and second in Race 2. It should be noted that both races were run this morning as yesterday’s race had to be postponed because of the bad weather.

The next round of the F1 Academy takes place in Singapore from 20 to 22 September, on the same card as the 18^th Grand Prix of 2024.

This was Norris’ fourth pole position, his third this season and McLaren now has 159 number one starts to its name. It was the first time since 1984 that McLaren secured what was its only other pole for the Dutch Grand Prix, forty years ago courtesy of Alain Prost.

THE DAY ON TRACK 

The third free practice session provided little in the way of useful information, both because it was run on a wet track and because it only really lasted a little over a quarter of an hour, as there was a long pause following Logan Sargeant’s crash in the Williams.

By depriving second placed Max Verstappen of pole, Norris also scotched a potential meeting of two legends of Dutch sport. In fact, the Englishman was presented with the Pirelli Pole Position Award by Ruud Gullit, one of the greatest football players of the second half of the last century. Gullit won a European title with the Dutch national team in 1988, three Dutch championships, three Italian championships, two Champions Cups, two European Supercups, two Intercontinental Cups, two Netherlands Cups, one Coppa Italia and one English FA Cup, this last one in the role of player-manager for Chelsea.

MARIO ISOLA - PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“It all looked very closely matched during two free practice sessions and the first two parts of qualifying, but then in Q3, Norris made a step forward which put pole out of reach of his competitors, with a fantastic lap: 356 thousandths is a very significant advantage on a track that is only a little over four kilometres in length!

“Clearly, because of the bad weather and various interruptions, preparation for teams and drivers was far from optimal for the grid-deciding session. In those 60 minutes, it was clear the Soft offered peak performance on the first flying lap and so, the use of a new set saw a significant improvement in lap time, probably even superior to that offered by the evolution of the track conditions.

“As for possible scenarios for tomorrow’s race, the relatively little data gathered over three hours of free practice still confirmed the results of simulations prior to the event. On paper, the one-stop is quickest, with the C3/C1 combination preferable to a C2/C3: in the first case the pit stop window can be between laps 24 and 30, while for the second it should open four laps later and close on lap 34.”

THE DAY ON TRACK

Very changeable weather conditions played their part, to the extent that all five types of tyre brought to Zandvoort were called into play. The first session began in the rain with the track battered by very strong winds, with gusts exceeding 85 km/h. 17 of the drivers even tested track conditions with the extreme wets, before joining the only three abstentions – Verstappen, Hamilton and Ocon – on the intermediates. After half an hour, conditions improved enough for a switch to slicks, with nine of the ten teams opting for the Soft, while both Ferrari drivers went for the Medium.

The Dutch summer displayed its better side in the second session with sun putting in an appearance as the wind diminished in strength. The teams were thus able to resume the usual Friday programme, focussed on comparing the three dry tyre compounds. The vast majority worked with the Medium and Soft, while Gasly (Alpine), Albon (Williams), Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) and Magnussen (Haas) used the Soft and Hard.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“This first day was partially affected by the changing weather conditions, so there was not much useful data to be gathered from the first session, but much more was acquired in the second one. At first glance, we can say that all three dry compounds seem to be viable for use in the race. With the track conditions and temperatures experienced in FP2, the C1 proved to be very competitive and consistent, with the C2 not far off in terms of performance, as predicted in simulations prior to the weekend, with a difference of around eight to nine tenths between the Soft and the Medium and four tenths between the Medium and the Hard. The C3 demonstrated higher degradation, but not to the point of ruling it out as an option for Sunday’s race, also because there was no sign of graining.

“One interesting point will be seeing how the grip from the track surface evolves over the next two days. It is meant to rain tomorrow morning which, combined with the wind, should reset the conditions a bit. But the forecast is better for qualifying and for the race, which should be run in similar conditions to those in FP2, although track temperature could be a few degrees higher.”

Banked corners are not that common in Formula 1 and therefore present an unusual challenge for both car and driver. It also has an effect on the tyres, because the higher speeds of the banked turns compared to the normal ones subjects them to even greater forces. That explains why the dry weather compounds chosen for Zandvoort are the three hardest in the 2024 range, used since the introduction of the 18” tyres: C1 as P Zero White hard, the C2 as P Zero Yellow medium and the C3 as P Zero Red soft.

On paper, thermal degradation is a very significant factor, but much will depend on the weather in late August. The Netherlands borders Belgium and we saw before the break how climatic conditions at these latitudes can change from one day to the next and even within the space of a day, so that summer doesn’t necessarily mean warm temperatures and sunshine. The average temperature in Zandvoort in late August varies between 14 °C and 20 °C, which could help drivers manage even the softest compounds, as was seen in last year’s race when Tsunoda ran 50 laps on the Soft. A further variable results from the track’s proximity to the sea shore, just one row of dunes and a street away, so that wind often coats the track with sand, thus lowering the grip available to the tyres. 

Conditions changed so much during last year’s race that all five types of available tyre were used. The most popular slick was the Soft, chosen for the start by 19 of the 20 drivers, Hamilton being the only one to opt for the Medium. The rain arrived immediately after the start, bringing the Cinturato Intermediate into play, and it was then required again for the final stages, after a long spell where slicks were used. Three drivers, the Red Bull pair and Esteban Ocon, even tried out the Cinturato Wet. There were a lot of overtaking moves and a record 82 pit stops.

In stable dry conditions, pre-event simulations point to a one-stop as the quickest strategy, especially as in theory, overtaking is a rare event, because the track is very narrow and there are few straights, therefore very limited passing opportunities. If it is hot, then the harder compounds should be favourite, but cooler weather would see the Soft become a viable race tyre.

The Zandvoort circuit has hosted all 33 editions of the Dutch Grand Prix counting towards the Formula 1 World Championship, dating back to 1952. Scotland’s Jim Clark won here four times, a record that could be equalled this year by Max Verstappen who has won all three races since Formula 1 returned to the Netherlands. In Saturday’s qualifying, the Red Bull driver could also top the table for pole positions here, as he is currently equal with René Arnoux on three. When it comes to the most podium finishes, this record is also held jointly by Jim Clark and Niki Lauda with six apiece. Among the teams, Ferrari leads the way for wins (8) and podium finishes (25) while, on eight, Lotus has the most pole positions.

While the street circuits in Baku and Singapore are the natural habitat for the chosen compounds, the fact that these have also been selected for Monza might create a few surprises. In fact, it’s worth noting that the track which hosts the Italian Grand Prix has been completely resurfaced, with the work only completed a few weeks ago. It will be interesting to see how Pirelli, as well as the teams and drivers, deal with this new challenge and how the compounds behave on the new surface.

THE DAY ON TRACK   

On the grid, the vast majority of drivers had opted to start on the Medium. The only exceptions were Sainz and Zhou who chose the Hard and Ricciardo who preferred the Soft.

The two-stop was the most popular strategy, while the Hard was the compound that performed best, both in terms of degradation and performance. Zhou was the only driver to retire and of the remaining 19, five of them – in their finishing order –Russell, Alonso, Stroll, Magnussen and Tsunoda, only pitted once, going from the Medium to the Hard, with the first two of these finishing in the points places, respectively first and ninth.

The prize for the longest stint goes to Russell who did 34 laps on the Hard, while on his final stint, Hulkenberg went furthest (24 laps) on the Medium.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“First of all, let me say this was a really exciting race. It’s been quite a while since Formula 1 has put on such a show and it’s unusual to see a race where the outcome is so uncertain, with the top three within just over a second of one another and the first six finishers, all of whom could legitimately claim to have aimed for the win or at least the podium, all finishing within under 10 seconds. It’s a shame the race result had to be changed but, as even Mercedes agreed, the rule regarding weight is very clear.

The second topic is strategy. Going into the race, we stated that a one-stop was not fast enough compared to a two-stop, but leaving aside Russell’s disqualification, his performance would disprove that theory. For a preliminary explanation, at least in terms of tyre behaviour, there are some factors that stand out. First of all, today’s track temperature was around 10 degrees higher than during FP2 and that probably contributed to very limited graining on the Hard, which on the other hand was very significant on the Mediums on a long stint. Furthermore, we can assume that the teams worked hard on defining car set-up to find the best compromise between a wet qualifying and a dry race and to try and protect the front axle, which was most prone to graining. A third element to consider is that many drivers made a point of looking after their Mediums very carefully, especially in the quickest corners.

Two thirds of the race was a fascinating chess game, with moves and countermoves, especially among the leaders, but also further down the field and then it all came to life over the final 15 laps or so, with all the drivers beginning to push and fight for track position. It was a show that, as I said earlier, means we go into the summer break with a strong desire to see something similar in a few weeks’ times in Zandvoort and indeed for the rest of the season.”

FORMULA 2

Isack Hadjar (Campos Racing) won the Feature Race at Spa-Francorchamps, his fourth success of the season. To take the win, the championship leader had to pass his main rivals for the title, starting with polesitter Paul Aron, whose podium hopes evaporated on the last lap with a technical problem. Second and third were Gabriel Bortoleto (Invicta Racing)  and Jak Crawford (DAMS). Hadjar on 165 points, extends his lead over Bortoleto (129) who has now moved ahead of Aron (124).

There was a 50-50 split on the grid, with 11 on the Soft tyre and the same number on the Medium. The key factor was controlling tyre wear, aggravated mainly by the newly resurfaced sections of the track that offered more grip than in the past. Those who did the best job then reaped the benefit in the closing stages.

FORMULA 3

Callum Voisin (Rodin Motorsport) took a maiden Formula 3 win in the Feature Race, which was affected by numerous incidents and three Safety Cars. Joining him on the podium were Sebastian Montoya (Campos Racing) and Leonardo Fornaroli (Trident), the latter retaking the series lead. With just the final round in Monza remaining, the Italian has 129 points, one more than fellow countryman Gabriele Minì, out of the points today. Third is Luke Browning (123 points), followed by Arvid Lindblad (113).

COMING UP NEXT FOR OUR TYRES

Pirelli still has work to do in Formula 1 this summer. The Spa-Francorchamps circuit is hosting two days of testing aimed at 2025 tyre development. On track on Tuesday 30 and Wednesday 31 July will be the Aston Martin and Alpine teams, who will run Stoffel Vandoorne and Esteban Ocon respectively on both days. On the job sheet, finalising the new constructions and development of the hardest dry weather compounds in the range. If it happens to rain, then the focus will switch to assessing new solutions for the intermediate and extreme wet tyres.

This is Leclerc’s 25^th pole position, the third at this track, following on from last year and 2019. It is his second this season after Monaco and it is Ferrari’s 251^st pole, the 17^th at this Grand Prix.

THE DAY ON TRACK 

The third free practice session was affected by rain that began to fall around twenty minutes before the green light. Then came a red flag after ten minutes when Stroll crashed and that pretty much signalled the end of the session, which up to that point had seen almost all drivers run with intermediate tyres, the only exceptions being the two Sauber drivers who did their first lap on the Extreme Wet. The Race Director then declared the track open with two minutes remaining, just so that the drivers could do their practice starts.

Qualifying took place from start to finish on a wet track, even if the rain only fell intermittently and not on the entire track. Therefore what made the difference was driver skill in very low grip conditions, as well as their management of the intermediate tyres as each driver had four new sets available: the only driver of those who got to Q3 who able to do four runs always using a new set was Verstappen, while all the others had to do at least one run on a used set.

Max Verstappen was presented with the Pirelli Pole Position Award by Damon Hill, the 1996 World Champion at the wheel of a Renault-powered Williams. He raced in Formula 1 from 1992 to 1999, driving for – in chronological order – Brabham, Williams, Arrows and Jordan. Apart from his title, his palmares features 22 wins, 20 pole positions, 19 fastest race laps and 42 podium finishes. The Belgian Grand Prix is actually the race where Damon enjoyed the most success, winning in 1993 and 1994 with Williams and then in 1998 with Jordan, that win being his final appearance on the podium.

MARIO ISOLA - PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

 “Today was another example of how changeable the weather can be here in Spa! In fact, we and the teams were expecting rain to be the feature of Saturday, which meant that the data acquired yesterday will be vital in deciding the best strategy for tomorrow’s race, which regardless of the peculiarities of the Belgian summer, should take place on a dry track.

Compared to last year, the new track surface has now shifted the balance significantly towards a two-stop strategy. It also means that the hardest tyre here, the C2, is now much more suitable for the race than it was twelve months ago, to the detriment of the softest C4. However, all three compounds are still perfectly viable, also because only four teams – Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Alpine – have two sets of Hards available.

On paper, the fastest strategy is to run the first stint on the Medium before doing a double stint on the Hard. The logical alternative is to go Medium/Hard/Medium but the Soft/Hard/Hard and Soft/Hard/Medium options cannot be ruled out. The one-stop is too slow, while the three-stop, even on a track where overtaking is definitely possible is, at least according to simulations, not faster. A further consideration is that the set-up choices made today remain the same for tomorrow, given that the cars in are in parc ferme and that could also change the balance of power seen in qualifying.

It’s worth noting that in qualifying run on a wet track and over seven kilometres, the top six drivers on the grid are all covered by just 430 thousandths. Of course there’s one driver who finished Q3 almost six tenths ahead of the rest, but he goes by the name of Max Verstappen…”

FORMULA 2

A complicated day for Formula 2 with the Sprint Race postponed until after Formula 1 qualifying because of rain. It eventually started on a wet track and then stopped after eight of the scheduled 18 laps and was not restarted. First when the red flag was waved was Zak O’Sullivan (ART Grand Prix), who crossed the line ahead of Dennis Hauger (MP Motorsport) and Richard Verschoor (Trident), and they duly stood on those steps of the podium.

FORMULA 3

A one-two finish in the Sprint race for the PREMA team with Dino Beganovic regaining the lead he lost at the start to team-mate Gabriele Minì on lap 4. The pair fought for almost all twelve laps and the gap only ever grew to over a second on the final lap. On the third step of the podium was Mexico’s Noel Leon (Van Amersfoort Racing), who passed Germany’s Tim Tramnitz (MP Motorsport) on the last lap. The race was run a track that was still damp from overnight rain, although the surface gradually dried and, as a result, the lap times improved from then on.

THE DAY ON TRACK

Both sessions were run in reasonably constant climatic conditions, with cloudy skies and track temperatures going from a fraction over 37 °C in FP1 to a low of 30 °C in FP2. Twelve of the twenty drivers have already used one set of Hard tyres out of the two they can use per race weekend. Only the Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Alpine drivers have kept both sets.

In FP1 and FP2, a few cuts were seen in some tyres, caused by gravel brought onto the track by cars that went through the run-off areas and back onto the track.

SIMONE BERRA – CHIEF ENGINEER

“It looks like being a particularly demanding weekend on the tyre front, as in fact was to be expected on a special track like Spa-Francorchamps. The fact that large sections of the track have been resurfaced has seen a significant increase in grip which, on the one hand, has made the track much quicker, already by almost 1”4 compared to the pole from two years ago, the last time there was a realistic reference point, while on the other hand it has probably led to an increase in graining, especially on the Medium and Soft and therefore a consequent increase in performance degradation over a long distance. In both sessions, we also saw a marked track evolution.

As the track is expected to be mainly wet tomorrow and then dry on Sunday, the teams will have to rely on the data gathered today to come up with the best set-up and strategies on a track where it is already more complicated than usual to find the right compromise between the need for aerodynamic downforce to stop the tyres from sliding, especially in the second sector, and maintaining good top speed to be competitive in the quicker first and third sectors. Compared to what we saw over the previous two years with this new generation of cars, the C2 seemed to be pretty competitive and could be a valid choice for the race, which explains why four teams have kept two sets for each of their drivers.”

FORMULA 2

This afternoon, the three drivers who top the championship standings have secured the top three places on the grid for Sunday’s feature race. Estonia’s Paul Aron (Hitech Pulse-Eight) secured pole position with a time of 1’56”959, ahead of Brazil’s Gabriel Bortoleto (Invicta Racing), second in 1’57”127 and France’s Isack Hadjar (Campos Racing), third in 1’57”241. Hadjar currently leads the Drivers’ standings on 140 points ahead of Aron (122) and Bortoleto (110).

There has been no change from past years in the compounds chosen by Pirelli in collaboration with the FIA and the promoter for the Spa-Francorchamps round: the teams are using the P Zero Yellow medium and P Zero Red soft this weekend. As was the case at the Hungaroring last weekend, it’s a selection that offers a wide window of strategy options, starting with Saturday’s Sprint which could also be tackled with the Soft. A lot depends on the weather, always very changeable in this part of Belgium, even in the height of summer. The drivers who made it to the 2023 Feature Race podium went with different strategies: the winner Jack Doohan started on the Medium before switching to the Soft after 16 of the 25 laps, while second and third placed Theo Pourchaire and Enzo Fittipaldi, went just over half distance on the Soft before finishing on the Medium.

FORMULA 3

Callum Voisin (Rodin Motorsport) took pole position for the penultimate round of the season, the first time the British driver has done so. His best time of 2’04”321 was 123 thousandths faster than Ireland’s Alexander Dunne (MP Motorsport) with Italy’s Leonardo Fornaroli (Trident) third, 132 thousandths down. Fornaroli is thus best placed of the four main title contenders, given that series leader Gabriele Minì (PREMA Racing) is eleventh, his team-mate Arvid Lindblad is way down in 27^th, while Luke Browning (Hi Tech) is seventh. Pirelli has chosen, in conjunction with the FIA and the promoter, the P Zero Yellow medium compound. The drivers will have to deal with thermal degradation generated by the high number of corners at this track, with some combinations, such as Eau Rouge-Raidillon, being truly unique. It will also be important to manage the possible appearance of graining and if it does occur, those who do the best job of dealing with it, particularly in the high speed corners, could have a significant advantage.

There’s been racing in the Ardennes for over a century with the first race, for motorcycles, taking place in 1921. The first Belgian Grand Prix was held the following year on a road circuit making use of three sides of a triangle which joined the towns of Spa-Francorchamps, Malmedy and Stavelot. This year, the track has had a makeover, with much of it having been resurfaced, which will be an important factor for the teams to take into account when preparing for the event.

Pirelli has already been able to assess the new asphalt, a month ago during the 24 Hours of Spa, the classic GTWC race for which the Italian company is the sole tyre supplier. During last June’s race, the GT3 cars lapped three seconds quicker than the previous year, with the same compounds. Of course the performance level of the GT cars cannot be compared to that of a Formula 1 car, not even using the current, highly advanced simulation tools. But it is highly likely that the new surface will lead to a significant reduction in lap times and a considerable increase in the grip level on the resurfaced sections.

For this, the 14^th round of the season, Pirelli has chosen the same trio of compounds as used for the last two years, namely C2 as P Zero White hard, the C3 as P Zero Yellow medium and the C4 as P Zero Red soft. In terms of stress on the tyres, it is one of the tracks with the highest average levels, even if it does not reach the peaks seen at Silverstone and Suzuka. The track features all corner types, linked by very fast sections, which makes it difficult for the teams to identify the ideal aerodynamic compromise. In fact, it is not unusual to see cars that are very strong in the fastest first and third sectors, struggling in the second slower one, or vice versa. Some combinations of corners, for example, Eau Rouge-Raidillon are very demanding and have unique characteristics, in this specific case a strong compression which puts a lot of stress on both the driver and the car. Usually, degradation at this track is mainly thermal, but the new surface could be a decisive factor in this area, given the extra grip afforded to the tyres.

Finally, how can one discuss a race weekend at Spa-Francorchamps without taking the weather into consideration? If there is a single venue on the motor racing calendar, not just F1, where variable weather can play a role, it is this one. Not only can conditions change from one day to the next, but also grip levels can be dramatically different at various points on the track at the same time. Furthermore, because it is such a long lap, the slightest little mistake in judging the right moment to switch from dry to wet tyres or vice versa can carry a severe penalty in the race and even more so in qualifying. Last year there was no rain during the race, but it had put in an appearance in the days leading up to it on what was a Sprint weekend. On Sunday afternoon, all the drivers ran slicks, the vast majority (13) favouring the Medium compound against seven going for the Soft. Only Norris used a set of Hard tyres for a dozen or so laps. Of those drivers who completed the race, most made two stops, the exceptions being Russell, Stroll and Gasly who split the 44 laps almost into equal parts: the Mercedes driver did a 22 lap first stint on the Medium before switching to Softs, while Stroll did 20 on the C3 followed by 24 with the C4, and the Alpine driver did his opening 23 lap on the Softs before switching to the Medium compound. The Englishman and the Canadian managed to finish in the points, in sixth and ninth places respectively.

This weekend’s race is the 68^th edition of the Belgian Grand Prix as a round of the Formula 1 World Championship. 56 of these have taken place at Spa-Francorchamps, ten at Zolder and two at Nivelles. The most successful driver in this event is Michael Schumacher with six wins, having made his debut at Spa in 1991, while the following year at the same track he took his maiden Formula 1 win, the first of 91. Next up at Spa are Ayrton Senna on five, and with three wins apiece are Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Jim Clark. Hamilton has the most poles with six and most podium finishes (10). Of the constructors, Ferrari leads the way on 18 wins, followed by McLaren with 14 and Lotus on eight. The Scuderia also tops the list of pole positions (16) and podium finishes (50).

While the Belgian Grand Prix is the last race before the summer break, Pirelli’s work continues as it is staying on for two more days of testing at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Supporting the programme aimed at development of constructions and compounds for 2025 will be Aston Martin and Alpine, each running one car over both days.

This was McLaren’s second win of the season, its 185^th in total and the twelfth at the Hungaroring, while their tally of one-two finishes is now 49, the last one dating back to the 2021 Italian Grand Prix when Norris was again second behind an Australian driver, on that occasion Daniel Ricciardo.

THE DAY ON TRACK   

As expected, the Medium was the preferred compound for the start: 13 drivers opted for the C4 for the first stint, while four went with the Soft and three, including Gasly who started from pit lane, chose the Hard. Almost the entire field went with a two-stop strategy, with just three drivers doing something different. While the three-stop delivered no benefit for Ocon and Sargeant, as the final pit stop for Soft tyres came when there was no longer anything to lose, it was a different matter for Tsunoda who was on a one-stop and finished ninth mainly due to his managing the tyres well in both stints, (first for 29 laps on the Medium and then 41 on the Hard). Following their choices made during free practice, the two Aston Martin drivers were locked into planning a strategy using all three compounds in the order Soft/Medium/Hard which yielded just one point courtesy of a tenth place for Stroll, who finished one place ahead of Alonso.

The longest stints (41 on the Hard) were completed by the two Racing Bulls drivers, Ricciardo and Tsunoda, while the longest Medium stint went to Stroll on 31 laps and he also did the most laps (14) on the Soft.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“I think the 310,000 spectators who came to the Hungaroring this weekend and the millions watching on TV and through other channels around the world must have enjoyed themselves. The weekend began like a game of chess and then reached its peak with a very closely contested and open race in which the lead changed hands seven times.

“With temperatures pretty similar to those we had seen in Friday’s second free practice session, the Medium probably turned out to be the most efficient compound overall: if it had not been for the collision with Hamilton, Verstappen would almost certainly have finished third. But the Hard, which was definitely the most used compound, was also competitive, not just on the two Mercedes, but on other cars too. In the end, I think this race once again demonstrated how important it is for the teams to carefully work out which are the compounds best suited to their cars, as well as showing how the current range of tyres lets us see how different strategy choices work out on track. After all, that is actually the main objective set for us every year by the FIA, Formula 1 and the sport’s other stakeholders, namely to provide tyres that are first and foremost a guarantee of the maximum possible safety, while allowing the teams and drivers to exploit their potential to the full. That what we try our best to achieve, not just in Formula 1, but also in the two junior categories, for which we are the sole tyre supplier.”

FORMULA 2

Another spectacular race today, with an impressive win for Andrea Kimi Antonelli (PREMA Racing) who grabbed victory by making the most of the second safety car period. In fact, in the first part of the race, it was a Safety Car that benefited those who had chosen to start on the Soft, such as Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix) who finished second. Antonelli on the other hand had started on the Hard and then made the most of the extra grip from the softer compound, combined with the fact his car was now lighter, so it’s fair to say, his win was not down to luck. On the third step of the podium was Richard Verschoor (Trident), some consolation for losing first place when he was disqualified from yesterday’s Sprint race result.

On the starting grid, there was a perfect Soft-Hard split, with eleven votes each. This was Antonelli’s second Formula 2 win, after victory in the Sprint at Silverstone and it puts him sixth in the Drivers’ classification on 86 points. France’s Isack Hadjar (Campos Racing) still leads despite failing to score today on 140 points, 18 more than Estonian Paul Aron (Hitech Pulse-Eight) who today only picked up the two points that come with pole position.

FORMULA 3

It seemed like a perfect weekend for the ART Grand Prix team, following on from yesterday’s one-two finish in the Sprint with a repeat performance in this morning’s Feature Race, the order inverted from Saturday with Bulgarian Nikola Tsolov first past the flag ahead of team-mate Laurens Van Hoopen. However, the Dutchman was later disqualified for a technical infringement, thus promoting Mexico’s Noel Leon (Van Amersfoort Racing) to second with Leonardo Fornaroli (Trident) third. From a tyre point of view, today’s race was a carbon copy of yesterday’s, with the Hard showing little sign of degradation, allowing drivers to push to their heart’s content. Overheating was also minimal, so that drivers could race close to one another thus delivering more overtaking opportunities.

It was a tough weekend for the three championship leaders, only Luke Browning scoring points (3) while Gabriele Minì and Arvid Lindblad came away empty handed. It means the battle is still on for title honours with just two rounds remaining, at Spa next weekend and then at the season finale in Monza. Minì still leads on 119 points, Browning is second on 115, Lindblad third on 113 with Fornaroli fourth on 112.

On the second row of the grid, we find Max Verstappen in the Red Bull, third in 1’15”273, just 46 thousandths of a second slower than Norris, and Carlos Sainz fourth for Ferrari, 469 thousandths down.

THE DAY ON TRACK 

The weather was very different compared to yesterday. Right from the third free practice session, the temperatures were much lower, especially the track, which was over 20 °C cooler than in FP1. Furthermore, rain put in an appearance just before qualifying and then reappeared occasionally, but the track never got wet enough to require the use of intermediate tyres.

In FP3, almost all the teams focused on preparing for qualifying, running the Soft compound. There were two exceptions: Red Bull Racing who used the Hard, including over a long run and Aston Martin who also used a set of Mediums.

Qualifying did not run particularly smoothly, partly because of the changing weather and partly because of two red flag periods, the first when Sergio Perez went off in Q1 and the second when Yuki Tsunoda crashed in Q3. The Soft was the only compound used and, as expected, peak performance was delivered on the first timed lap. The drop in temperature made it easier for the drivers to manage the C5 on a flying lap, improving the balance of the car across the two axles and reducing overheating of the rear tyres, which was particularly significant yesterday in the final sector.

MARIO ISOLA - PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

 “Once again, here at the Hungaroring, we witnessed a spectacular qualifying, with the first three drivers lapping within 46 thousandths of a second of each other, while there were also several twists and turns. That all points to it being a very closely contested race tomorrow, both right at the front and in the battle for the remaining points. It’s worth noting that, over the course of a year, car performance has increased significantly, given that today’s pole position time is almost one and a half seconds quicker than last year on what is one of the shortest tracks on the calendar.

“In terms of strategy this is a race where the classic two-stop is the clear favourite. On paper, the quickest option is to start on the Medium before then bringing in the Hard. Clearly, the number of available sets of these two harder compounds will determine the teams’ decisions. On that topic, there are three teams – Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari – whose drivers only have one set of new Hard and two of new Medium available, while one, Aston Martin, has one set of new Medium and one of new Hard. All the other teams have at least two sets of Hard and one of Medium.

“Another very important factor to consider will be a return to hotter conditions for tomorrow with the track expected to exceed the 50 °C mark by a considerable margin.”

FORMULA 2

Tyres played an important role in the Sprint Race, with the grid pretty much divided in two when it came to compound choice for the start: 12 drivers went for the Soft and ten for the Hard. The grip advantage from the Soft was clear to see off the line and in the opening laps. For example, from fourth on the grid, Kimi Antonelli (Prema) went into the lead in just a handful of laps, but then with more significant degradation than the Hard, only those who were able to manage the softer compound most effectively, such as Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix) or Dennis Hauger (MP Motorsport), got the best out of it. Others, such as the aforementioned Antonelli, had to pit and were then unable to move back up the order despite being able to count on fresher tyres. Richard Verschoor (Trident) was first past the chequered flag ahead of Kush Maini (Invicta Racing) and Martins. But the Dutchman was disqualified for a technical infringement on his car, promoting Maini to first place, Martins to second with Isaak Hadjar (Campos) now third.

FORMULA 3

Nikita Bedrin made the most of starting from the front row of the grid to claim his first FIA Formula 3 win with the AIX Racing team. The Russian, who races with an Italian license took the chequered flag ahead of his Thai team-mate Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, finishing on the Formula 3 podium for the very first time, thus rounding off a perfect Saturday for the team. Dino Beganovic (PREMA Racing) secured the third step on the podium. As for the tyres, the Hard showed very limited degradation, allowing the drivers to push and fight from start to finish.