From 09:00 local time, the cars took to the track, after the presentation in the paddock of Pirelli’s new tyre graphics that will feature on the sidewalls during the coming seasons.

The majority of the mule cars, equipped with the current DRS system rather than the new active aerodynamics for next year, ran with a speed limit fixed at 300kph to reduce downforce and collect data that will be more representative of 2026. Only mule cars already equipped with next year’s ‘straight line mode’ at the front were allowed to run without speed limits, while respecting the SLM activation zones put in place by the FIA along the track.

For the mule car test, the teams had at their disposal one set of C2 tyres and three sets each of C3, C4, and C5 – as well as a set of Intermediates. There were no prescribed run plans, with each team free to use the tyres however they chose. The best time of the day was set by Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) with a time of 1’25’’170. Second was McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in 1’26’’099 while Lewis Hamilton was third for Ferrari in 1’26’’138, all on the C5.

The young drivers (officially defined as drivers who have taken part in no more than two grands prix) instead got to drive the 2025 cars from the season that has just finished. They had at their disposal two sets of C3 and C5, four sets of C4, and two sets each of Intermediate and Full wet. The fastest time of the day was set by Jak Crawford (Aston Martin) with a time of 1’23’’766 on the C5.

Pirelli Motorsport Director Mario Isola said: “This test day was an excellent opportunity for all the teams to try out the definitive 2026 tyres, with the compounds set to be formally confirmed on Monday. During the development tests organised by Pirelli throughout this season, the teams individually ran different versions of the prototypes, in various phases of development – from just the new construction to a range of options for the same compound. Today was the first time that they had the entire range at their disposal on track, which gave them the chance to more fully understand the characteristics of the new tyres. By using the same mule cars as during the development tests, with the same speed limits, teams were easily able to compare the data captured in Yas Marina with that from the individual test days over the last few months. For our engineers, this test was fundamental to confirm the performance gaps between the compounds and the degradation levels, which has been the focus of our work throughout the year. Analysing the new tyres, which have a smaller footprint against the surface, has also allowed us to check their exposure to graining and overheating: two effects that can potentially increase due to the smaller surface area. Now we have to wait until the end of January to see these latest tyres in action at the Barcelona test on the new generation of cars.”

During the nine hours of running that concluded at 18:00 local time, a total of 2,648 laps were covered by all 20 cars, equalling 13,984 kilometres. The drivers who racked up the most laps were Kimi Antonelli (157 laps), Frederik Vesti (145 laps) e Pierre Gasly (144 laps).

The young drivers taking part in today’s test were: Pato O’Ward (McLaren), Frederik Vesti (Mercedes), Ayumu Iwasa (Red Bull), Dino Beganovic (Ferrari), Luke Browning (Williams), Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls), Jak Crawford (Aston Martin), Ryo Hirakawa (Haas F1 Team), Paul Aron (Kick Sauber) and Kush Maini (Alpine).

The regular race drivers were: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon (Williams), Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), Stoffel Vandoorne (Aston Martin), Ollie Berman and Esteban Ocon (Haas F1 Team), Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg (Kick Sauber), as well as Pierre Gasly (Alpine).

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the race from pole, while the other title protagonist, Oscar Piastri, was second. All three drivers adopted different tyre strategies for the 58-lap race, which got underway at 17:00 in daylight and continued for nearly two hours into the night.

Verstappen started on the medium and then switched to the hard on lap 24, whereas Piastri did the opposite by starting on the hard and then moving to the medium on lap 42.

Norris however made two pit stops: starting on the medium and then completing two stints on the hard to reach the finish.

Piastri actually managed to pass his team mate on the opening lap despite being on the harder tyre, but the strategy selected for Norris was enough to guarantee him the final podium place required to clinch the title by two points from Verstappen.

All three compounds were seen on the grid, with some drivers further down the order choosing to start on the soft tyre. Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg, celebrating his 250^th grand prix, was one of them: making up more places than any other driver – nine – after starting from P18 and finishing ninth with a two-stop strategy.

With no safety cars, retirements, or yellow flags it was a straightforward fight to the finish: with the three drivers who have dominated the season locking out the podium.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“Congratulations to Lando Norris on winning his first drivers’ title. The battle went all the way to the final round of the season – which was one of the most closely-fought of the last few years thanks to the similarly competitive pace of the different teams. Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri certainly didn’t hold back today, giving us a thrilling final.

In terms of strategy, the majority of the teams opted for a one-stopper using the most consistent two compounds as we expected: in some cases, stretching the hard tyre stint for more than 40 laps.  Even though there was no graining on the hardest compound, there were still inevitably some signs of wear in the final laps.

Among the drivers choosing the alternative strategy, the newly crowned champion Lando Norris stands out. He went for a two-stopper, probably prompted by the extra pit stop for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, using the two fresh sets of hard tyres that McLaren had saved in their build-up to the race.

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton also used a fresh set of tyres for his final stint, which in this case was the medium. This excellent choice allowed him to make up several places, underlining how close the two strategic options were, as shown by our simulations.

Pirelli’s job does not stop here: we will be back on track on Tuesday together with all the teams for a full test day, A total of 10 mule cars piloted by the race drivers will try out the new 2026 tyre range, while 10 young drivers will take to the track with this year’s cars and tyres.”

For the 33-lap feature race, held in the heat of the day with track temperatures of 42 degrees, there was a mixture of supersoft and medium tyres on the grid – with those at the front favouring the faster compound for a quick getaway. Roman Stanek led from pole, but the first of  two safety car periods was already in place by lap two.

Most of the supersoft runners, including the leader, came in shortly after the pit window opened on lap six, while the medium runners – headed by newly crowned champion Leonardo Fornaroli – ran a longer opening stint, pitting with three laps to go. By the time all the stops had shaken out, AIX Racing’s Joshua Duerksen took the lead to seal an identical win in Abu Dhabi to the one that he had claimed last year: starting in P8 and finishing first. Stanek’s runner-up spot was enough to clinch the 2025 teams’ title for Invicta Racing, while Campos Racing’s Arvid Lindblad was the highest-placed driver to run the alternative medium-supersoft strategy, eventually ending up ninth from 10^th on the grid.

The Dutchman’s time on both his first and second runs in Q3 were good enough for pole: two tenths of a second faster than the McLarens – which line up second and third with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri respectively.

This means that all three title contenders will start the decider together at the front of the grid, after an extremely close qualifying session. Tactics already played a part, with some drivers aiming to benefit from an aerodynamic tow down the straights during qualifying.

All the drivers used the soft tyre to set their fastest laps, with Verstappen selecting scrubbed tyres in Q2 before sealing his fifth pole in Abu Dhabi on a new set: going three tenths of a second faster than last year’s pole position.

With the competitive margins so closely poised, drivers will be relying heavily on tyre strategy to make a difference in the 58-lap race tomorrow, which gets underway at 17:00: one hour before today’s qualifying time.

The session started today under the lights in ambient temperatures of 25.6 degrees centigrade and track temperatures of 27.5 degrees, remaining largely consistent throughout the hour-long session.

The Pirelli Pole Position Award was given to Verstappen by Benson Boone. The American singer dominated the charts in 2024 with his hit ‘Beautiful Things’: the best-selling single of the year. Boone, who performed in concert at Yas Marina on Thursday night, has a new album out called ‘American Heart’.

Tomorrow, Verstappen will also receive the 2025 Pirelli Pole Position of the Year award, which he sealed with his result today. The Red Bull driver pulled clear of Norris in the final rankings for overall pole positions during the season, sealing his eighth pole of 2025: one more than his McLaren rival.

THE DAY ON TRACK 

Track temperatures were the hottest they have been all weekend (36 degrees centigrade) for FP3, which began at 13:30. Running was consequently limited in the non-representative conditions; especially at the start of the session. Nonetheless, all the drivers eventually ventured out on a combination of medium and soft compounds, with Aston Martin being the only team to scrub in hard tyres. In the closing minutes, as track evolution ramped up grip, Mercedes driver George Russell went quickest on the soft by just 0.004s from Norris. The session was interrupted by a red flag halfway through the hour, after the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton – the most successful driver in the history of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – went off.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“Congratulations to Max Verstappen, who sealed pole just when it mattered most. In qualifying, some drivers chose to keep new soft C5 tyres for the quickest laps in the final Q3 session, even though we saw that used softs were still capable of setting fast times after a few cool-down laps.

Looking at the tyre sets that the teams have kept back for the race, there are two different approaches. McLaren is the only team that has saved two sets of new hards, while most other teams – including Red Bull – have saved two sets of mediums. This shows that teams are keeping the possibility of two stops open, but only McLaren – the winners of the constructors’ championship this year – have gone for the most conservative option.

The two quickest strategies tomorrow are one-stoppers. One option is to start on the medium and switch to the hard between laps 20 and 26. An alternative is to start on the hard and then take advantage of the soft’s extra performance by stopping between laps 39 and 45.

A two-stop strategy seems to be a bit less competitive, especially given the difficulty of overtaking here. The best way to do it is with a combination of medium and hard for the first two stints, followed by a final stint on the medium – which in theory would be quicker for the run to the flag than the hard or the soft under these circumstances.

It's not been possible to assess how graining has progressed from the short runs seen today, but there is no evidence of it so far this evening. Track evolution suggests that the situation will be better compared to Friday, especially thanks to the tyre management that we expect from the drivers during the grand prix.”

On his final weekend as an F2 driver, Arvid Lindblad took his third victory in the series after leading from pole. His Campos Racing team mate Nikola Tsolov claimed a debut podium in third, behind runner-up Joshua Duerksen (AIX Racing), who briefly challenged for the lead after a virtual safety car with two laps to go.

With Invicta failing to score today, the F2 teams’ championship will now be settled tomorrow: although the reigning champion team still holds a significant advantage.

All the drivers used the medium tyre throughout the 23-lap race, which got underway at 16:00. With no pit stops in the sprint, managing wear and degradation efficiently was key to success.

Most drivers started FP2 at 17:00 local time on the medium tyre, in track temperatures of 28 degrees, but some of the early quickest times came on the soft courtesy of Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) and Oliver Bearman (Haas).

Verstappen was the first of the frontrunners to switch to the soft as the sun set with half an hour to go, and quickly moved onto longer runs on the medium for race simulation. With all the cars then selecting the soft towards the end of the session, Norris claimed the upper hand by 0.3s.

One of the standout performances came from Bearman, who finished the session in P4, while Piastri – another of the three championship contenders – ended up P11.

THE DAY ON TRACK

The opening FP1 session at 13:30 was held in warmer conditions, with Norris again going fastest from Verstappen by a much smaller margin.

Piastri missed FP1, as Pato O’Ward took over his McLaren: one of nine rookie drivers participating in the session (with a rookie officially defined as a driver who has started no more than two grands prix). This year, every driver is obliged to give his car to a rookie in two practice sessions. All three compounds were used during the FP1 session.

SIMONE BERRA – PIRELLI CHIEF ENGINEER

“The times on the first day of Abu Dhabi are in line with simulations: about half a second faster compared to last year. In both sessions we found some instances of graining, mainly on the front-right, which has the effect of slightly accelerating degradation. In this context, the most consistent race tyres seem to be the medium and hard, whereas the soft appears to be more suited to a flying lap.

One factor to bear in mind though is track evolution. The support races are laying down rubber onto a surface that was initially quite dirty, improving grip. This means that graining could well be reduced in the next couple of days, putting the soft C5 back into play.

From what we just saw today, a one-stop strategy seems to be most likely. Nonetheless, as the weekend goes on, a two-stopper could also become a possibility. It’s not by chance that both McLarens and the Aston Martin of Alonso did not run the hard at all in FP2, saving a new set.

An extra set of hard C3 tyres during the race gives more options in terms of strategy, especially if there’s a safety car, and delivers performance very similar to the medium C4. The performance gap between the C3 and C4 is currently around two tenths of a second, while there’s a bigger gap between medium and soft of about seven to eight tenths of a second.”

Roman Stanek qualified for the F2 feature race on pole, as his Invicta team bids to seal back to back teams’ championships. With grip ramping up thanks to track evolution, most of the action took place in the closing minutes of the half-hour session, as drivers swapped fastest times right up to the end at 15:30.

By qualifying in P10, Campos Racing’s Arvid Lindblad – recently announced as an F1 driver for Racing Bulls next year – has secured pole for tomorrow’s F2 sprint race, which takes place at 16:15. The longer feature race, by contrast, happens on Sunday at 13:15, where tyre strategy will play a key role. The tyre tactics for qualifying today were much more straightforward, with all the drivers benefiting from the speed of the supersoft.

Unusually, four of the drivers had just taken part in Formula 1 free practice before F2 qualifying, including second-placed Jak Crawford (DAMS) – meaning they had to adapt quickly to changing circumstances.

Like last year, there’s a performance gap between compounds for the final round of the F2 season – with medium and supersoft nominated. The softest compound has a significant advantage at the start, although its performance duration is limited.

Those starting on the supersoft are banking on a safety car to reduce the time lost during a pit stop. Starting the feature race on the medium should deliver a shorter theoretical overall race time, but any neutralisation after lap six or seven would wipe out that advantage. The Yas Marina circuit has become faster and smoother following changes four years ago. The track surface, which produces low levels of grip, is generally quite easy on tyres, allowing for several strategy options.
 

As from next season, while maintaining the same 18 inch rim diameter, the tyres will be slightly narrower to suit the new generation of cars developed as part of the overhaul of the technical regulations.

On the Tuesday following the Grand Prix (9 December) the Yas Marina circuit will host a group test with the race drivers at the wheel of mule cars, adapted to suit the 2026 range of tyres. (see the “Keyword” paragraph).

But before that, it will be time to celebrate on the last podium of the 2025 World Championship, where the drivers will wear a special edition of the famous Pirelli cap. The Abu Dhabi Podium Cap, produced by Pirelli Design, working with the designer Denis Dekovic, is beige in colour, evoking the desert dunes, and can be bought on the dedicated e-commerce site, https://store.pirelli.com.

The compounds

Pirelli is sticking with the usual selection of compounds for the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi, namely the C3, C4 and C5. Historically, the Yas Marina track sees graining on the tyres, but as from last year this phenomenon seems to be relatively limited and the greater resistance of the current tyres could reduce it to such an extent that even the Soft, usually only used in qualifying, could be a tyre around which to put together a race strategy. At this track, degradation is thermal in nature and is generally seen on the rears due to the requirement for traction especially in the final sector of the track.

In 2024

In Yas Marina last year, 19 drivers fitted the Medium for the start, the sole exception being Hamilton who went with the Hard. The one-stop was the quickest strategy, using the Hard for the second stint. Of the top ten finishers, only Alonso pitted twice. Just one driver ran the Soft with the sole aim of setting the fastest race lap. Graining and degradation were both limited and so, even those who pitted before half-distance, managed to run just two stints with no difficulties.

The track

Yas Marina has hosted the final race of the Formula 1 season 13 times. It is a modern, cutting-edge facility, the track is 5.281 kilometres long, and features 16 corners. The drivers know it well as it has long been the venue for the post-season test session. Designed by Hermann Tilke, the track underwent an overhaul four years ago, which slightly reduced its length, while making it faster and more flowing, producing more overtaking opportunities, especially on the 1.2 kilometre-long straight between the slow turns 5 and 6. Another interesting section is to be found through turns 10, 11 and 12, where drivers have to brake hard, thus generating heavy lateral loads on the car. The track surface is made with aggregate imported from England and provides medium levels of abrasiveness and grip. To iron out some bumpy sections, the surface was redone this year from turn 1 to turn 4. As at all night races, there will be a significant drop in temperature between the first and last sessions. Track conditions can change according to when the cars are on track and they will also be affected by how much it rubbers in thanks to the support races, including Formula 2.

Keyword: post-season test

On Tuesday 9 December, the teams will all take part in a group test organised by Pirelli which will run from 09h00 to 18h00. Each team will field one of its race drivers at the wheel of a mule car, specially adapted to simulate the characteristics of next year’s cars, in order to test the 2026 range of tyres. Each team will be provided with one set of C2, three each of C3, C4 and C5, as well as a set of Intermediate tyres in case of rain. The 2026 C1 and Full Wet will not be available in Yas Marina.

On the same day, each team will also run a “young driver”, defined as a driver who has not raced in more than two Grands Prix, at the wheel of their 2025 car. These drivers will be supplied with 2025 tyres – two sets each of the C3 and C5, four sets of the C4 and one set of Intermediates and Full Wets for use in case it rains.

For the test, the 2026 tyres will feature updated graphics on the sidewalls that will be used for the whole season, while also maintaining the usual colours to indicate the level of hardness of the tyre, although the C2 will not have brackets in Abu Dhabi, in order to distinguish it on track from the C3.

Statistics corner

This will be the 17^th consecutive year that the Yas Marina circuit has hosted the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The first edition, in 2009, was won by Sebastian Vettel. The most successful driver in the Emirates is Lewis Hamilton with five wins and the same number of pole positions to his name. This year, Max Verstappen could equal that record as he is on four. His team, Red Bull Racing, has the most wins (7) while Mercedes are just one behind. It was here in Abu Dhabi in 2021, that the German team secured its eighth Constructors’ world title, on the same day that Max Verstappen secured the Drivers’ crown for the first time.

All three tyre compounds were seen on the grid and at the chequered flag, but the pivotal moment was the appearance of a safety car on lap seven: for the fourth time at four races held in Qatar so far.

With most drivers starting on the medium tyre, all but the two McLarens pitted to put on a fresh set of tyres under the safety car – with Verstappen, who had forced his way up to second from third on the grid, the first to come in.

Pitting under the safety car carries an advantage of roughly 10 seconds compared to green flag running, and it was here that Verstappen built his crucial advantage.

Adding to the tactical complexity today was the fact that each tyre set had a 25-lap limit specifically for the 57-lap Qatar Grand Prix: meaning that the McLarens were then out of sync with everybody else in terms of strategy.

The other drivers had to pit by lap 32 for their final stops, with McLaren staying out longer on each stint as a result of their earlier decision not to pit under the safety car.

Oscar Piastri relinquished the lead on lap 42 for his last pit stop, with his team mate Lando Norris coming in two laps later as Verstappen consolidated the lead.

Nearly all the drivers ran their two opening stints on the medium before switching to the hard for the final stint, including all three podium finishers. Piastri set the fastest lap of the race on both the medium and the hard tyres – with the overall fastest lap, which was also the new race lap record of 1m22.996s, coming on the hard compound on lap 44.

That final place on the podium was claimed by Williams driver Carlos Sainz, who adopted a perfect strategy to clinch his second podium of the year from seventh on the grid.

Conditions were cool at the challenging Lusail circuit this year, with ambient temperatures of 22 degrees centigrade and 23 degrees on track as the race got going under the spotlights at 19:00 local time.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“All the strategic choices in today’s race were conditioned by the arrival of the safety car. The compound considered to be the best compromise between getting good grip right from the start, and also maintaining an adequate performance level throughout the duration of the stint, was the medium.

Although nearly every driver only used the hard for the final stint to the flag, the C1 compound would also have been competitive halfway through the race. The lap times showed that in some cases it offered better performance than the C2 medium in the final laps. All the compounds displayed very limited wear, allowing drivers to push to the maximum.

There was a lot less graining compared to previous days, which reduced cases of extreme wear but did not eliminate them entirely. As a result, the 25-lap limit was shown to be appropriate to avoid any issues.

The fascinating twists and turns of this race, with unprecedented levels of performance and new circuit records set throughout the weekend, reflect an entire season with closer competition than ever. So it’s perhaps no surprise that the championship now gets decided at the last race, with three very worthy contenders going into battle for the final time next weekend.”

Leonardo Fornaroli is Italy’s latest champion as the Invicta driver converted pole to championship victory in the 22-lap Formula 2 feature race, where he finished runner-up. Fornaroli had actually qualified second too, but a grid penalty for MP Motorsport’s Oliver Goethe promoted the Italian to the top spot.

The majority of drivers elected to start the race on the soft tyre, with seven drivers (outside of the top 10 on the grid) choosing the hard.

With the race taking part in the heat of the day, drivers faced a much faster tyre warm-up compared to yesterday’s night sprint. The mandatory pit stop window opened from lap six, so it was a case of maintaining optimal performance from the soft throughout the first quarter of the race. In the closing stages, managing wear life was key.

Eventual winner Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix) jumped Fornaroli at the start, and made his stop for the hard tyre on lap seven. Once all the stops had shuffled through, Martins maintained his advantage – despite a mid-race safety car – while second for Fornaroli was enough to seal the title: giving him back-to-back championships in F3 and F2.

The alternative strategy from hard to soft proved to be generally less effective, but the timing of the safety car still made it more viable than expected. Notably, Arvid Lindblad (Campos Racing) started from P17 on the hard tyre than finished in P4 with the soft.

With his sixth pole position of the season under the lights of the Lusail circuit on Saturday evening, Piastri further lowered the track record he set in sprint qualifying to 1m19.387s, using the soft tyre (nearly 1.2 seconds faster than last year’s pole).

The softest compound was chosen by all drivers from start to finish of qualifying, which got underway at 21:00 in temperatures of 21 degrees ambient and 24 degrees on track.

In these cool temperatures, some drivers chose a two-lap run to warm the tyres before embarking on their flying laps.

There were two short delays during qualifying: a brief pause before Q2 to sweep up some loose gravel, with the sharp edges having caused some cuts to the tyres on Friday in particular. The final Q3 session was then effectively split in two, after a red flag to retrieve plastic debris, following the first run that was headed by Norris – who had also set a new track record.

But Piastri was able to hit back and go even faster on the decisive second run, with the three title protagonists now occupying the first three places on Sunday’s grid. If Piastri can finish ahead of his team mate, the title fight stays alive to Abu Dhabi.

The Pirelli Pole Position Award was given to Piastri by Alton Mason. The American – mentored by Naomi Campbell – is one of the most in-demand models on catwalks all over the world, having been elected Model of the Year five times in a row. In 2022 he also starred in the ‘Elvis’ movie biopic, alongside Austin Butler and Tom Hanks. 

THE DAY ON TRACK 

The final sprint race of the year got underway at 17:00 local time in ambient temperatures of 26 degrees and track temperatures of 30 degrees. All the drivers started on used medium tyres, apart from the two Alpines and the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton: which started at the back and fitted new mediums.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri led all 19 laps from pole to take his first sprint race win of the year, having never been seriously challenged. This was Piastri’s third consecutive sprint win in Qatar, having also triumphed here in 2023 and 2024.

With all six sprint races now complete, the unofficial ‘sprint championship’ winners of 2025 are Max Verstappen are Lando Norris, who each claimed two victories, with Lewis Hamilton and now Piastri taking the others. Verstappen however retains the all-time record for sprint wins, with 13 under his belt since the format was inaugurated in 2021. 

The 23-lap Formula 2 sprint race on Saturday evening was turned on its head by a late safety car period that ended seven laps from the finish. Seven drivers further down the order used this neutralisation to switch from the hard tyre, which everyone started on, to the soft in the hope of a rapid final stint. Polesitter Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport) stayed out to seal a record-equalling eighth F2 win, while Invicta’s Roman Stanek was the highest-placed finisher to take a pit stop, crossing the line in P13.

Nonetheless, Verschoor was still able to set fastest laps at the finish – underlining the consistent performance of the hard tyre even against new softs. A shorter second safety car period concluded with just one lap to go, with the interruptions generally helping to reduce the heavy wear demands on tyres at Lusail.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“The only difference in tyre choice for the sprint race was new or used mediums, depending on the results from sprint qualifying – as the few drivers not to get through SQ1 were able to use new tyres. Three drivers also made a pit stop in the sprint race to try out the soft tyres, probably to assess their potential use in Sunday’s grand prix.

Just as was the case last year, we saw some tyres where graining had accelerated wear: taking it to the maximum but without any loss of performance. These instances, noted mainly on the front-left tyres, are exactly why the limit of 25 laps on each set has been imposed.

The considerably faster lap times compared not only to last year but also the latest simulations has led to a bigger increase in loads on the tyres than expected. As a precaution, we already prescribed an increase in minimum pressures of 1 psi on both axles at the end of Friday.

We saw some more cuts on some of the tyre treads during Saturday, but fewer than Friday. The two pit stops expected on Sunday should mitigate this issue. Looking ahead to the race, the sets of mediums kept back by the teams lead to the conclusion that most could go for two stints on the yellow tyre. The fastest strategy is with a final stint on the soft, following a pit stop between laps 44-50. The use of the hard C1 at the beginning, or alternatively between two medium C2 stints, would allow the pit stops to be spread out more evenly during the race – but this is theoretically slower than a strategy that uses all three available compounds.

Medium-hard-soft is the second-quickest tactic on paper, with pit stop windows that are identical to the fastest strategy: between laps 19-25 and 46-50, in accordance with the lap limit. If there are no safety cars, we believe that the teams are likely to maximise the 25 laps allowed for each set.

Another strategy using all three compounds could be hard-medium-soft, with a shorter final stint to the flag. In short, there are plenty of options on the table.”

The 23-lap Formula 2 sprint race on Saturday evening was turned on its head by a late safety car period that ended just seven laps from the finish. Seven drivers further down the order used this neutralisation to switch from the hard tyre, which everyone started on, to the soft tyre in the hope of a rapid final stint. Polesitter Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport) stayed out to seal his eighth Formula 2 win, while Invicta’s Roman Stanek was the highest-placed finisher to take a pit stop, taking the flag in P13. 

Nonetheless, Verschoor was able to set fastest laps two laps from the finish – underlining the consistent performance of the hard tyre. A shorter second safety car period concluded with just one lap to go, with the interruptions generally helping to reduce the heavy wear demands on tyres at Lusail.

Sprint qualifying got underway at 20:30 local time in relatively cool ambient temperatures of 22 degrees, with 25 degrees on track. There was plenty of track evolution on the smooth asphalt, which meant that the grid positions were not decided until the final seconds of SQ3. Russell briefly held pole before being demoted by Piastri, with the other McLaren of Lando Norris lining up third.

Verstappen will start from sixth, having been outqualified for the first time by his Red Bull team mate Yuki Tsunoda in fifth.

As per the sprint regulations, the drivers completed SQ1 and SQ2 respectively on two sets of medium tyres: a compound they were running for the very first time this weekend. Verstappen topped SQ1 on this tyre, while Norris was quickest in SQ2: a sign of just how closely-balanced the weekend is likely to be.

THE DAY ON TRACK

McLaren was first and second in the only F1 practice session of the weekend, which got underway at 16:30 local time, with Piastri narrowly heading his team mate on the final run with soft rubber. The teams mainly used the hard tyre for the first 45 minutes of the hour, with Russell consistently topping the time sheets on the white tyre.

SIMONE BERRA – PIRELLI CHIEF ENGINEER

“Today we definitely had better track conditions compared to last year, when the wind had deposited a lot of sand on the surface, which affected grip considerably. The current grip levels, combined with the evolution of the cars since last year, meant that the lap times were not only lower than the equivalent sessions from last year, but also than the simulations.

In the single free practice session, teams chose to get to grips with the track using the hard compound – leaving them with one set for the race on Sunday – before concluding the session on the soft.

The difference between the soft tyre and the C2 medium was clearly seen in sprint qualifying, with a performance gap of around six to seven tenths of a second, while the run plans that the teams were carrying out in FP1 make it harder to define the gap to the hard compound. However, it would appear to be smaller than the predicted simulations.

On their flying qualifying laps the drivers were able to recover performance from one lap to the next, especially on the medium tyre, thanks also to track evolution that was more pronounced with every lap.

At the end of the sessions, we saw cuts on the tread of some of the tyres caused by gravel pulled onto the circuit by cars that went off into the new gravel traps alongside the track. While the damage isn’t enough to cause any loss of pressure, we’re going to be a close eye on the condition of the tyres during tomorrow’s running.”

The penultimate Formula 2 qualifying session of the season got going under the spotlights at 19:10, with MP Motorsport’s Oliver Goethe snatching his first pole in the closing moments by just 0.040s on the second. All the drivers used the red soft tyre for the session, with many drivers taking advantage of track evolution to post their best times right at the finish. Championship leader Leo Fornaroli also performed strongly for Invicta, and will line up second on the grid for Sunday’s feature race. Tomorrow’s shorter sprint race grid is formed by the top 10 in qualifying reversed, which means that Richard Verschoor makes it two poles for MP this weekend.

The nominated F2 compounds this weekend are hard and soft. Managing the hardest tyre (the only carry over from 2024) is expected to be particularly demanding: especially during warm-up. Drivers often push to the maximum to get tyres up to temperature, which however speeds up wear. With soft instead of medium nominated this year, there’s a bigger performance gap between the compounds that could lead to interesting strategy choices – but the soft cannot complete the entire sprint race distance. This takes place at night, whereas the feature race is during the day. The resulting difference in temperature will affect how teams tackle the track. In 2024, the most successful strategy was hard to medium, although Oliver Bearman ran the opposite strategy and kept the lead until the final two laps. There were several safety car periods, reducing the pit stop time loss.
 

Conditions were cold on track in the Nevadan desert, but in Qatar drivers will have to deal with heat and humidity similar to that experienced in Singapore. The Middle Eastern track is particularly demanding for the tyres and that has led to the introduction of an exceptional measure (explained below), restricting the number of laps that can be completed per tyre set. This means the drivers will have to change tyres at least twice during the race.

The compounds

The three hardest compounds in the Pirelli range have been selected for Doha. The C1, C2 and C3 are the obvious choice at a track where tyres are subjected to energy levels similar to those experienced in Suzuka and indeed, these are the only compounds that have ever been run for this Grand Prix. This trio of compounds has previously been used three times this year, all in the early part of the season, in Japan, Bahrain and Spain.

Most of the corners at the Lusail track are high speed, which means the tyres have little time to recover and the section which works them the hardest is from turns 12 to 14. The track surface which is quite smooth has usually led to graining which contributes to producing a high wear rate on the tyres. 

In 2024

All drivers started the Qatar Grand Prix on the Medium tyre with the exception of Nico Hulkenberg who opted for Hards. The one-stop strategy proved the most popular, with drivers looking to extend the first stint on the yellow-banded tyre, managing to make it last well past the half race distance. The run of pit stops to switch to Hards began on lap 34, during a red flag period. The Safety Car made three appearances and during the final two of these, some drivers decided to go for a sprint finish, pitting again for a set of Softs. However, the softest compound suffered from too much performance drop-off and the gamble didn’t deliver the hoped-for result.

The track

The Lusail circuit was originally conceived as a motorcycle racing track, which is clear from its rather unique layout; fast and twisty with a straight that is over a kilometre in length. The circuit on the outskirts of Doha, presents the drivers, cars and tyres with some unusual challenges. It boasts 16 corners, ten of them right handers while its desert location means that sand often gets blown onto the track, inevitably influencing track evolution. In an effort to prevent this, there are several areas of artificial grass around the circuit.

High temperatures are a distinctive feature of the Qatar weekend. Despite the fact the race is held at night, the high humidity, added to the residual heat built up during daylight hours, makes the cockpit a very demanding environment, to the extent that, in previous years, some drivers have felt unwell come the end of the Grand Prix. From a tyre point of view, track temperature can lead to the appearance of graining even if, as is clear from earlier races this year, the current range of compounds seems to be more resistant to this phenomenon.

Keyword: number of laps

Every set of tyres supplied to the teams at the start of the race weekend can cover a maximum of 25 laps of the Lusail track. The laps will be counted cumulatively across all track session, including laps run under the Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car.

Laps to the grid and formation laps and those completed after the chequered flag in the Sprint and the Grand Prix will not be included in the count. As the Qatar Grand Prix is run over 57 laps, each driver will inevitably have to change tyres at least twice. Before the start of the Grand Prix, Pirelli will inform the teams how many laps are still available for each set.

The limitation, agreed with the FIA, F1 and the teams, was decided on to prevent the tyres from reaching their maximum level of wear, as happened last year, when tyres were nevertheless used past their working life, through management of their degradation. However, doing this puts excessive strain on the tyre’s construction.

Statistics corner

This weekend’s race will be the fourth running of the Qatar Grand Prix, previously held in 2021, 2023 and 2024. Max Verstappen is the most successful driver in Doha, having won for the past two years, which also makes Red Bull Racing the constructor with the most wins. In 2023, the Dutchman sealed the championship title in the Qatari capital. He has also set two of the three fastest race laps, but has only started from pole position once. In the first year, 2021, Lewis Hamilton won from pole for Mercedes.

Championship leader Lando Norris came home second for McLaren, having lost the pole advantage to the Dutchman after the start. A disqualification on both McLarens at the end of the race, however, promoted George Russell (Mercedes), last year’s winner, to second place, and his teammate Kimi Antonelli to third.

For Verstappen, who started from second, this was his sixth win of the season and the 69^th of his career. For Red Bull Racing this is win number 128. Verstappen has still a chance of winning the Drivers’ World Championship title. With two Grands Prix and one Sprint race remaining, Norris leads with 390 points, just 24 ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri and Verstappen.

THE DAY ON TRACK   

The majority of drivers started on the Medium tyre, with five drivers, the Saubers of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto Alex Albon (Williams), Franco Colapinto (Alpine) and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) lining up on the Hard. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), later penalised for a jumped start, was the only driver to start on the Softs.

When the lights went out, Norris was over-aggressive in defending his pole position, running wide at the first corner, which allowed Verstappen and Russell, who got ahead of Carlos Sainz, to move ahead of the McLaren.  At half distance – lap 25 of 50 - Verstappen had enough of a gap to pit to switch from Medium to Hard, a compound which proved to be very consistent and still emerge ahead of second placed Russell. Both compounds allowed drivers to push for the whole race, confirming that a one stop, with Medium and Hard was the quickest route to the flag.

The top eight all finished on Hard, while Nico Hulkenberg in ninth was the best of those who did the reverse strategy. Antonelli made up an impressive 13 places to cross the line in fourth place, but a 5 second penalty for jumping the start dropped him down just one place to fifth. The Italian completed all but two of the 50 lap total on the C3, as did Alpine’s Pierre Gasly who finished 15^th. Esteban Ocon who finished 11^th in the Haas, went furthest on the Medium, completing 27 laps on the C4.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“The night time race in Las Vegas ran very much as had been expected going into the Grand Prix. We witnessed what was effectively a one-stop race, with the Medium and Hard completing the 50 laps between them. Graining was very limited today, seen on only a few cars and then mainly on the front axle. The only useful reference for comparison, at least for the yellow compound, was with FP1, when the tyres had been much more affected by it.

“The decisive factor was probably track condition, the surface being much cleaner than on Friday. Last year, with similar temperatures, the drivers had to make two stops, precisely because of graining whereas this year, even without looking after the tyres, they managed to extend their stints. This is further confirmation of the improved mechanical properties of the current compounds, which indeed we’ve seen throughout the season.

“Max Verstappen’s win, taking the lead shortly after the lights went out, gives us an exceptionally close end to the season, with only two races left to run: the Drivers’ championship is yet to be decided, as is the battle in the Constructors’ behind McLaren.”

Dorian Pin is the 2025 F1 Academy Champion. The PREMA Racing-Mercedes  driver crossed the finish line of the last race of the season, in a safe fifth place, to keep ahead of her only title rival, Maya Weug who finished on the podium in third place for MP Motorsport-Ferrari. The fact that Weug failed to even start yesterday’s race compromised her hopes of overtaking the French woman, who eventually took the crown with a 15 point advantage. First and second today were Campos-Red Bull team-mates Chloe Chambers and Alisha Palmowski, finishing from where they started on the grid. The regulations forbid Pin from racing in this series next year and so she joins the roll of honour alongside previous F1 Academy champions, Marta García (2023) and Abbi Pulling (2024).

The Pirelli Pole Position Award was presented to Norris by Louis Tomlinson, former member of famous British boyband One Direction, today a successful solo artist. On Saturday, before the start of the Grand Prix, he will be entertaining the crowd, singing from the starting grid. His latest single is called Lemonade.

THE DAY ON TRACK 

With overnight rain followed by more precipitation in the morning, the track was too wet for slicks at the start of the final free practice session, with all 20 drivers first venturing out on Intermediates. The cold conditions meant the still-green track took a long time to dry. Norris was the first to attempt running the Softs after around half an hour, but it was not until the final 20 minutes that a dry line began to appear and the C5 was finally viable. George Russell was quickest for Mercedes in 1’34”054, still a long way off the fastest FP2 time from yesterday of 1.33.602, set by Norris.

Rain intensified before the start of qualifying, and the Aston Martins were first out of pit lane on Full Wets, also chosen by Nico Hulkenberg in the Sauber, while the majority opted for Intermediates, which were soon rejected in favour of the Full Wets.

With around four minutes of Q1 remaining, the rain eased but not enough to make Intermediates viable, although the track condition was improving, which meant no one’s lap time was safe. The most surprising driver not to make the cut was seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton last in the Ferrari, while George Russell topped the time sheet for Mercedes. The rain stopped in time for Q2, but the remaining drivers were all still on Full Wets. With around 5 minutes of this session remaining, Lance Stroll was the first to venture out on Intermediates, but it was clear there was not enough of a dryer line for them to work effectively. Russell was once again quickest. For Q3, the track was finally dry enough for Intermediates.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

 “One would never have expected to witness a wet qualifying in the middle of a desert, but Las Vegas continues to surprise us. This afternoon’s free practice provided information that would prove useful for the teams, as over 30% of the laps were run on rain tyres, but clearly it was not enough to have an immediate understanding of what would be the best compound with which to start qualifying. After a first run on Intermediates, it soon became clear that conditions required the use of Full Wets. The extreme rain tyres ensured the drivers had good grip for their first flying laps before the track began to dry, allowing for a switch to the Intermediates. The crossover time between these and the Full Wets established in today’s Free Practice is important information if the same conditions are repeated for the start of the Grand Prix. Looking at possible strategies, obviously we have to assume it will be a dry race, basing the options on drastically reduced available data.

“Given the level of graining encountered on the Soft, this compound seems hardly suitable for an effective race strategy tomorrow. On paper, the quickest combination is based on a one-stop: start on the Medium, then switch to the Hard between laps 20 and 26, to then go for a long final stint. Fitting the yellow-banded tyres for the grid also opens up other competitive options. Teams that have kept two sets of Hards could attempt a two-stopper, Medium-Hard-Hard, switching between laps 12 and 18 and again between laps 27 and 33. A similar alternative for the few left with two sets of the yellow-banded tyres would be to run two initial stints on Medium and then Hard, with a final return to the Medium between laps 32 and 38. Use of the Soft would inevitably involve two stops. The way to make the most out of the qualifying compound could be at the start, until a window between laps 8 and 14 to change onto Mediums for a middle stint before returning to the softest compound, fitting it between laps 34 and 40.” 

The 2025 F1 Academy Drivers’ title will be decided in tomorrow’s very last race of the season. In today’s first race of the Las Vegas weekend, championship leader Dorian Pin (Prema Racing) was first past the chequered flag, thus extending her lead over her only title rival, Maya Weug, who never even made the start, following a collision on the formation lap. The race started and finished behind the Safety Car and alongside Pin on the podium was her team-mate Nina Gademan in second place, with Alisha Palmowski third for Campos Racing. Prema Racing’s one-two finish means the Italian squad has clinched the teams’ title.

THE DAY ON TRACK

In the first hour of practice under the lights on the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Leclerc was quickest in 1’34”802, ahead of Alex Albon in the Williams and Yuki Tsunoda for Red Bull Racing. Most of the field started off on the Medium compound tyre, with Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) the only driver to run the Hard. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) was the first drive to try the softest compound Pirelli has brought here. All the cars are running very low Monza-like aero levels to suit the high speed nature of this street track.

A few drops of rain before the start of FP2 did not have any real effect on the state of the track surface and the entire field was soon out on Mediums, with the exception of Gabriel Bortoleto in the Sauber, who initially ran the C3, before joining the rest on the C4. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) was the first to attempt a qualifying simulation on the Softs, with the rest of the field following suit at the mid-point of the session. With 20 minutes remaining the red flags came out as a manhole cover was reported to have come loose before turn 17. The session resumed with six minutes remaining, but when there was just two minutes left on the clock, the red flags came out again for the same reason and the track did not go green again. It means the timesheet did not tell the full story today, with some drivers not able to complete a qualifying simulation. The red flags also made the session hard to read because drivers never managed any long runs to acquire data useful for the race. The fact that the track is always very dirty at the start of the weekend means track evolution was very high and lap speeds will continue to fall rapidly tomorrow, rain permitting.

MARIO ISOLA, PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“As expected, right from the first free-practice session the effect of track evolution at the Las Vegas circuit was very noticeable. The track is only closed to normal road traffic a few hours before the cars go out, so it was very dirty at first and began to rubber in progressively as the number of laps increased, which was reflected in the drop in the lap times seen from the start to the end of the sessions.

“The times were lower than those seen in the same session last year: Lando Norris beat Hamilton’s best 2024 FP2 time by just over two tenths, a time that is already close to last year’s pole position lap.

In FP1, low track temperatures lead to graining on Medium and Soft compounds, although less so than last year and it had no effect on wear.

This factor mainly affected the front axle, which was subjected to the biggest cooling effect on the main straight and is also the cause of the understeer that cars can experience at this track.

“The difference in the tyres’ final appearance across the various compounds was largely influenced by the different programmes adopted by the teams. The Mediums, used for more laps with high fuel loads, showed greater signs of graining compared to the Softs, which were used almost exclusively for qualifying simulations.

The track improvement and the low fuel loads used during the runs in the second free-practice session, before it was interrupted by the red flag, helped to significantly improve the condition of the tyres.

The Hards, which delivered lap times not far off those of the Mediums, appear to be the ideal candidate for Sunday’s race, especially if teams can find the key to extending their stint and making the most of them in terms of possible strategies.” 

Therefore, the first two free practice sessions are on Thursday, with the final one followed by qualifying on Friday, while the Grand Prix itself is held on Saturday night. All sessions will start two hours earlier than they did last year. The Nevadan event has already delivered exciting races with plenty of overtaking, thanks to the track layout which includes a run down the famous Strip.

Celebrating the unique character of this event, the Pirelli Podium Cap will be gold and blue. Gold reflects the illuminations of the Strip, while blue evokes the cool calm of the night circuit. A special edition produced by Pirelli Design with creative input from designer Denis Dekovic, it is available on the dedicated e-commerce site  https://store.pirelli.com.  

The compounds

For the third consecutive year, the compounds chosen for the Las Vegas street circuit are the C3, C4 and C5. One of the main challenges will be tyre temperature management, especially during qualifying. The fact the sessions are running earlier this year will help the drivers, as conditions won’t be quite as cold, thus helping tyre warm-up.

However, the preparation lap prior to the flying lap will still be crucial to get the tyres up into the right temperature window. Furthermore, this year’s tyres have improved mechanical properties, which should see a reduction in degradation, which was particularly noticeable on the medium compound last year.

The decision not to go for a softer trio was down to the risk of graining, prevalent since the first edition of this race, which could excessively compromise the efficiency of the softest compound in the current range.

In 2024

All but four drivers chose to start on the Medium. Fernando Alonso went for the Soft, while Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas and, starting from pit lane Franco Colapinto, preferred the Hard. With almost the entire field having saved two sets of the harder compounds, the two-stop was the preferred strategy, drivers pushing tyres to the limit rather than having to manage them carefully. Degradation was minimal, as was wear, while graining appeared mainly on the Mediums used in the first stint.

The track

The race is run over 50 laps of the Las Vegas circuit, which has 17 corners and is unique because of the speeds attained and its technical layout. At 6.201 kilometres, it is the second longest on the calendar after Spa and one of the fastest in terms of average lap speed. In 2024, Alex Albon in his Williams hit the highest top speed of the season (368 km/h) on the straight between turns 12 and 14. At the latter corner, drivers experience very strong deceleration when braking and it is one of the best overtaking opportunities.

Almost 80% of the lap is spent at full throttle, the cars passing famous landmarks such as the Venetian and Caesars Palace, which hosted the first two Las Vegas GPs. For those races in 1981 and 1982, the track was laid out in a parking lot, whereas today it runs through the main streets of the city so that street furniture and oil residue from normal traffic reduces grip levels. Therefore, track evolution over the course of the weekend is expected to be particularly high.

Keyword: possible strategies

With a bit of luck, you might win at the Casino tables in Las Vegas, but in Formula 1 luck alone is not enough. Getting the strategy right involves data, simulation work and in-depth analysis. Only then can you find the winning play.

Before each Grand Prix, Pirelli provides the teams with race strategy scenarios that are in theory the quickest, based on the particular tyre compounds available that weekend. This is defined by extensive calculations taking into account numerous tyre-related factors.

This approach requires a different methodology to that used by the teams, even if the objectives are similar. All the data is processed by proprietary software designed to identify the optimal strategies for one car on track, with the aim of completing the race in the shortest time possible.

The first information to be analysed concerns the performance difference between the compounds, as identified in pre-event analysis carried out by the modelling and simulation group. Then, added to this is historical data relating to tyre degradation from previous years at the same track, along with data from the same compounds already used at earlier races during the current season.

A key parameter in the calculations is performance life, which is the maximum number of laps a tyre can cover before its performance drops to a level where it is preferable to replace it.

These elements, along with other factors, make it possible to estimate lap times for each compound and, by also taking into account variations in fuel loads, to identify the ideal windows for tyre changes.

A key factor, which the teams consider of great importance when deciding on a one or two-stop strategy, is the time taken for the car to come down the pit lane, carry out the tyre change and rejoin the track, which varies from circuit to circuit. Analyses are updated throughout the race weekend, to include data from track sessions and what the Pirelli engineers have learned from the product.

The teams, having more data relating to their own cars, often use what’s known as the Monte Carlo method. This also takes into account random variables such as traffic, the likelihood of the Safety Car being deployed and how straightforward it is to overtake at each track, especially in the DRS zones.

Statistics corner

This will be the third edition of the Las Vegas Grand Prix to take place on the Strip and the fifth time in total that a round of the Formula 1 world championship has been held in the gambling capital. In 1981 and 1982 a race was run in the Caesars Palace parking lot. The inaugural race at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, held in 2023, was won by Max Verstappen, while George Russell won last year, starting from pole position. 

Every set of tyres supplied to the teams at the start of the race weekend can cover a maximum of 25 laps of the Lusail track, which is very demanding on tyres in terms of energy, thermal stress and wear. The laps will be counted cumulatively across all track session, including laps run under the Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car.

Laps to the grid and formation laps and those completed after the chequered flag in the Sprint and the Grand Prix will not be included in the count. As the Qatar Grand Prix is run over 57 laps, each driver will inevitably have to change tyres at least twice. Before the start of the Grand Prix, Pirelli will inform the teams how many laps are still available for each set.

This measure has been deemed necessary, following analysis of the tyres used in 2024. Last year, several tyres, particularly the left front, had reached the maximum wear level. These conditions, combined with the high lateral energy had increased the structural fatigue of the construction.

In order to reduce the number of pit stops, the teams had worked on tyre degradation management, limiting performance drop off, which sometimes ran the risk of extending the stint beyond the useful life of the tyre.

A similar precautionary measure had already been introduced at this track in 2023, although that was for different problems which are now resolved. That year, repeatedly going over some kerbs had led to micro-lacerations in the tyres’ sidewalls. Last year, the subsequent modification to the pyramid kerbs along with the addition of strips of gravel around them, had avoided a repetition of this situation.

As already announced, Qatar will see the use of the hardest compounds in the Pirelli range: C1 as Hard, C2 as Medium and C3 as Soft. As this is a Sprint weekend, each driver will be supplied with 2 sets of Hard, 4 of Medium and 6 of Soft.

McLaren’s Lando Norris took his second consecutive race win after a perfect weekend to stretch his championship lead, Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli scored the best result of his young career with second, while driver of the day was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen: who finished on the podium after starting from the pitlane.

A key factor to this action-packed race was tyre strategy in the cool and challenging conditions, with intermittent drizzly rain at the start of the day and track temperatures that never exceeded 29 degrees centigrade.

At the start, all three compounds were seen on the grid, with Antonelli in second selecting the soft tyres to try to out-drag polesitter Norris on the mediums. However, a safety car on the opening lap, subsequently followed by a virtual safety car, neutralised the action and also had the effect of reducing energy demands through the tyres at a crucial point In the race with cars full of fuel.

Verstappen, who had started on hard tyres from the pits with a fresh set up and new engine, worked his way up to the midfield before lap 10 but was forced to pit early for the medium after picking up a slow puncture on debris from the many incidents – so had his work cut out all over again.

The fight at the front of the field for most of the race was between the two McLarens, which adopted identical two stop medium-soft-medium strategies: however, Oscar Piastri’s progress was blunted by a 10-second penalty for his part in the incident that brought out the virtual safety car.

Verstappen ended up taking a three stop strategy using all three compounds: racing from last to within 10 seconds of the lead at the end of the 71 laps.

While the vast majority of the drivers stopped twice, Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) and Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) both finished in the points with two different one-stoppers. In total, there were seven different strategy variants adopted by the 17 finishers.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“Interlagos always springs surprises and delivers fantastic racing. Last year it was the rain to provide the variable that enhanced the show; this year we saw a wide variety of race strategies, which – combined with the unique characteristics of this track – encouraged even more overtaking than normal.

It was impressive to see Max Verstappen starting from the pitlane and getting onto the podium; the reigning world champion never stops amazing us. Congratulations also to young Kimi Antonelli, who managed to defend his second place bravely, and of course to Lando Norris, who sealed a great win from pole.

As we expected the soft and the medium were favoured, and a two-stop strategy was the most common. The degradation levels on the tyres, combined with some early pit stops to take advantage of the neutralisation periods at the start of the race, probably pushed the teams towards that choice, putting the emphasis on the two softer compounds.

The hard didn't really come into play, as it tended to slide a lot on a surface that had been ‘reset’ by the rain the morning. The pit stop windows were different for each driver, creating performance differentials that helped overtaking and gave us a great show as a result.

The only two drivers who finished the grand prix with just one stop obviously had to work their tyres harder than the others, who experienced wear and graining levels that were lower than yesterday. Nonetheless, Liam Lawson and Nico Hulkenberg showed today that a one-stopper was also a perfectly valid strategy. And it's been a long time since we saw such a wide variety of strategies using different compounds, from one to three stops, end up scoring points at the end of a dry race.”

In the closing seconds of Q3 he was joined on the front row by Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc starts in the top three of the grid for the third consecutive time.

Conditions remained tricky throughout the qualifying hour, with high winds and track temperatures that peaked at 41 degrees centigrade.

After a slight delay to repair barriers that were damaged in a preceding support race, Q1 got underway with both the soft and the medium tyres seen on track, although all the drivers finished the first session on the softest compound.

The biggest surprise was the elimination of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in Q1, while Haas driver Oliver Bearman impressed by topping the time sheets for the majority of Q1 and Q2.

In the crucial Q3 session Piastri was fastest after the first runs, while Norris overcame a lock-up in his first run that put him last to then set his personal best time of the weekend when it counted most.

Mercedes driver George Russell adopted a different tactic by choosing the medium tyre for his final Q3 run – the only driver to do so – using it to good effect to qualify sixth.

The Pirelli Pole Position Award was given to Lando Norris by André Lamoglia. The Brazilian actor from Rio de Janeiro played a student in the highly successful Netflix series ‘Élite’. Lamoglia also takes the lead role in ‘Rulers of Fortune’, which has just come out on Netflix. In this latest series, set in his home city of Rio, Lamoglia plays an unscrupulous criminal in the high stakes world of gambling.

THE DAY ON TRACK 

Norris converted pole to the win in a complex sprint race that was interrupted by a lengthy red flag period after only six laps. Overnight rain had left damp patches on the track, especially in the first corner, but all the drivers selected either the medium or soft slick for the 24-lap sprint race that got underway at 11:00 local time in track temperatures of just 25 degrees.

Interestingly, out of the top eight, those on the right-hand side of the grid (including the polesitter) chose the medium tyre whereas those on the left-hand side selected the soft. In total, 14 drivers started on medium and six started on soft.

The turning point of the race was when Piastri went off at Turn 2 after touching the kerb, followed by Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg, causing the red flag period for barrier repairs.

Norris, in the lead, chose to switch to the soft tyres at the restart, whereas the two Mercedes chasing him did the opposite and switched from soft to medium.

Over the remaining laps Norris had to manage this compound to fend off his pursuers, with the task made more difficult by the cool conditions, increasingly gusting winds, and damp patches: all of which can decrease grip levels and cause cars to slide more.

The race ended under yellow flags following a big crash for Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, with Norris’s second sprint win (after Miami) stretching his championship lead over Piastri to nine points.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“The best track conditions that we saw at the end of yesterday were completely reset by the rain that fell overnight and this morning. So compared to yesterday, track evolution wasn’t progressive.

As a result, lap times today were slower not only than yesterday but also than the equivalent sessions last year. A contributory factor today was also the gusting wind, which was a real challenge in terms of car balance.

In qualifying though, we finally got to see the performance gap between medium and soft, which was estimated at around two to three tenths of a second, in line with our simulations. That gap wasn’t clear yesterday, also because of the reduced number of laps run on the softest tyre.

Once more we head into a weekend where there’s not going to be a lot of time difference between a one-stop and a two-stop strategy. If going for a one-stopper, the best choice would seem to be soft and medium: even though the difference is quite marginal due to the wear rates. The low track temperatures make it trickier to bring the hard tyre into the correct temperature window, and this compound is also more affected by a lack of grip from the surface here.

Starting on the soft tyre, a reasonably early pit stop for the medium: roughly between laps 24 and 30. The rear wear rate seen on the C4 today is enough to have an impact on traction, so this requires careful management. It wouldn’t have been a surprise to see drivers struggle with this in the sprint race this morning, had it not been for the red flag stoppage that allowed a switch to the medium.

The two-stopper options tomorrow also include the softest compounds, starting with the C4 to gain an initial advantage, before moving to the C3 for the middle stint, and then leaving the choice between soft and medium open for the run to the flag.”

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli will line up second on tomorrow’s sprint race grid, crucially separating Norris from his team mate and key title rival Oscar Piastri. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, also in contention for the championship, will start only sixth, having lost time in the middle sector of his final run.

As per the regulations, all the drivers used a set of medium tyres for SQ1 and SQ2 before switching to the soft for SQ3: the first time that all the drivers (apart from the Red Bull duo) had run them all weekend. The sprint qualifying was run in ambient temperatures that peaked at 38 degrees centigrade.

However, things are expected to change considerably tomorrow as rain is forecast for the morning, which is likely to mean a wet track for the sprint race at 11:00 local time, which will be followed by qualifying for the grand prix at 15:00.

The teams will have to start from scratch in the wet conditions, with one of the unknown factors being the wet grip available on the new asphalt in the long acceleration zone past the pits stretching from Juncao (Turn 12) to the first corner. A new surface has also been laid from the exit of the Senna ‘S’ (turn three) along the back straight to Descida do Lago.

THE DAY ON TRACK

McLaren’s Lando Norris narrowly beat his team mate Oscar Piastri by 0.023s to go fastest in FP1 right at the end of the session, with both McLarens using the medium tyre: the default choice for most competitors.

Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg was a surprising third, while his team mate and local hero Gabriel Bortoleto concluded the session a strong fifth.

Red Bull and Ferrari took a different strategic approach: Red Bull was the only team to also try the soft tyres (although Max Verstappen aborted his flying lap on this compound) while both Ferraris ran on just one set of hard tyres throughout the hour-long session, where track temperatures peaked at 41 degrees centigrade.

SIMONE BERRA – PIRELLI CHIEF ENGINEER

“Following the lap times we saw in the short qualifying session today, there seem to be two different types of possible strategy in terms of compound choice for tomorrow’s sprint race. The times show that the performance gap between the medium and the soft is very little, which make both compounds a valid option for tomorrow’s race.

The compact nature of the track here is one reason why that gap is so small, as well as the fact that the teams have only had a very limited chance so far to run the soft tyre and work out how to maximise its potential. The drivers starting the sprint on the C4 should have an initial grip advantage but will have to manage degradation at the end of the race.

As for the hard tyre. the results we saw with it in FP1 were quite varied and seemed to largely depend on the different setups used by the teams during the only session so far that it was run. Some drivers managed to get good performance out of it while others struggled to find a satisfactory level of grip.

Even though the trio of compounds selected for this year are harder than those nominated in 2024, the lap times in FP1 were up to seven-tenths of a second faster. Asphalt temperature was definitely one factor influencing this, which was lower than last year.

The support races are helping to provide significant track evolution as expected, which could nonetheless be neutralised tomorrow morning if the predicted rain arrives. Strong gusts of wind are expected as well that could also drop temperatures further – which might push the teams towards using the softer compounds for the rest of the weekend.”

Brazil has strong links to the sport, with a rich racing legacy, as well as being home to several great champions who have left an indelible mark on the history of Formula 1.

The Interlagos track, with an interesting mix of straights and corner types usually provides a great show and close racing, with sudden rain storms often adding to the uncertainty of the final result.

This week, the Pirelli Podium Cap is green and yellow, echoing the colors of the national flag. The special edition which the drivers will wear on the podium is produced by Pirelli Design with creative input from the designer Denis Dekovic and can be purchased on the dedicated e-commerce site https://store.pirelli.com.  

The compounds

This year’s compound selection for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix harks back to 2023, with the C2, C3 and C4 as Hard, Medium and Soft, therefore one step harder than the trio used last year.

Last year, the dry weather tyres were not required for the race, but when used on Friday and Saturday morning, they showed high levels of wear, as well as graining, especially on the rear axle. The circuit had been completed resurfaced, thus leaving a very smooth surface, less abrasive than in previous years, although still with plenty of bumps around the track.

If conditions are similar, with the inevitable variations due to the ageing of the asphalt, the decision to bring harder compounds could thus extend the performance life of the tyres, which are already more resistant to degradation than the 2024 range. That might allow the Soft to come into play, which last year was only used for Sprint qualifying.

In 2024

Last year, qualifying and the race both took place on Sunday. With bad weather forecast, the Race Director decided to run qualifying at 07.30, as well as bringing the Grand Prix start time forward to 12.30. Dry weather tyres were never used at any time during the day.

All drivers were on Intermediates for the start and at half-distance the race was red-flagged as the rain intensified. At that point, just five drivers had fitted Full Wets. After the restart, all drivers completed the race on Intermediates, only four of them running a new set. If it had been a dry race, data from the previous day suggested that a two-stop was the most realistic option in terms of race time and tyre management, given the wear rate seen during Friday and Saturday’s sessions.

The track

The circuit named in honour of Brazilian racer José Carlos Pace, is 4.309 kilometres long. It was built between 1938 and 1940 and takes much of its inspiration from three classic circuits: Brooklands in England, Roosevelt Raceway in the United States and Montlhery in France.

The layout at Interlagos is interesting, with hints of an anti-clockwise oval circuit, which the drivers deal with 71 times in the race. It boasts 15 corners with relatively balanced lateral and longitudinal forces that do not put any undue strain on the tyres, as they are subjected to loads distributed equally between the front and rear axles.

The combination of several straights and much twistier sections offers plenty of overtaking opportunities, although it also means there’s a higher risk of Safety Cars and incidents.

At this time of year, the weather and temperature can be very variable, with a risk of frequent rain and the inevitable use of wet weather tyres.

A further peculiarity of Interlagos is the bumpy nature of the track, as a result of it being built on relatively unstable ground: just one more challenge for drivers and teams to deal with in terms of set-up and tyre management.

Keyword: colour 

Brazilian Carnival is known the world over for the vibrant colours of its setting and the costumes of the participants, embodying the country’s festive spirit and cultural identity. Indeed, it was in Rio de Janeiro, home to the famous carnival that Pirelli first introduced colour banded sidewalls on their tyres, which is now a distinctive trademark of the Italian company in Formula 1.

At the first round of the 1986 F1 season, held at Rio de Janeiro’s Jacarepagua circuit, the Benetton team, owned by the eponymous clothing company and noted for its innovative use of colour, introduced something new, in the form of Pirelli tyres with completely coloured sidewalls. The B186s driven by Gerhard Berger and Teo Fabi sported them for the first stint of the race, much to everyone’s amazement. Up until that day, tyres had remained almost exclusively black.

When Pirelli returned to Formula 1 as sole tyre supplier in 2011 it introduced coloured markings next to the logo for ease of identification. This idea reached its peak in 2018 when there were no fewer than seven different colours to identify the various compounds, the range being known as the “rainbow.” However, this experiment only lasted to the end of that season, replaced by the current white, yellow and red.

Statistics corner

To date, Brazil has hosted 51 Formula 1 World Championship Grands Prix, 47 named after the country and the last four after the city of Sao Paulo. Interlagos has hosted 41 races, starting with the inaugural event in 1973. In 1978 and from 1981 to 1989, the race was held at Rio de Janeiro’s Jacarepagua circuit.

Of the races run at the José Carlos Pace circuit, the most successful driver is Michael Schumacher with four wins and ten podium finishes. If Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton were to win this year, they would equal the German champion’s record at the Paulista track.

Of the teams, Scuderia Ferrari leads the way on 9 wins, just one ahead of McLaren. Interlagos was also the scene of George Russell’s maiden Formula 1 win in 2022.

Charles Leclerc took his Ferrari from second on the grid to second at the chequered flag, crossing the line 30.324 seconds behind the winner, until the final laps when he had to fend off a charging Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing), the Dutchman keeping his championship hopes alive, fighting hard to make it to the last step of the podium in third place. In fact, with two laps remaining Verstappen was right on Leclerc’s gearbox and looked set to pass the Ferrari, but a Virtual Safety Car was called, the race only going “live” again with half a lap remaining, Leclerc just hanging on to the runner-up slot.

The biggest surprise came from Oliver Bearman in his first full F1 season, who brought his Haas home in fourth place from ninth on the grid having run as high as third for much of the race, his best ever F1 result. The excitement mounts in the Drivers’ Championship with four races remaining, as Norris moves into the lead, one point ahead of team-mate Piastri, while Verstappen is now 36 points behind the leader with four Grands Prix and two Sprint Races remaining this year.

THE DAY ON TRACK   

The majority of the drivers (12) lined up on the Soft compound tyre for the start, while six (Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing, Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls, Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing, Carlos Sainz Williams, Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber and Pierre Gasly Alpine) went with the Medium, while Alex Albon, Williams and Franco Colapinto Alpine opted for the Hard.

As is often the case here with the very long run down to the first corner, the opening lap was chaotic, with the leaders four abreast into the corner. The Stewards had to get involved to work out who had gained an advantage, Lewis Hamilton coming off worst, taking a 10 second penalty at his pit stop.

Championship leader Oscar Piastri in the McLaren had a poor start, but eventually fought his way back up to fifth. Sainz was the first to make a planned pit stop switching from Medium to Soft, with the Soft-to-Medium stops beginning on lap 22 with Antonelli. A second run of stops began on lap 47, with Piastri, Antonelli and Hamilton.

The longest stint of the race came courtesy of Colapinto who completed 48 laps on the C2, while Ocon did 44 laps with the C4 compound and Gasly managed 37 laps on the softest compound.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“We were treated to an interesting race here in Mexico City, not just in terms of the on-track action but also because we saw the field split between those on a one-stop and others on a two-stop. Congratulations to Lando Norris, who was impeccable all weekend, right from the opening day and who is now back in the lead of the championship. Well done also to Ollie Bearman who brought home a valuable fourth place for the Haas team.

“The Medium and Soft compounds both played their part but, if one were to pick a star of the day, it was without a doubt the red banded compound. Most of the drivers chose the softest tyre for the start and for the final stint in the case of those who opted for a two-stop strategy.

“Thanks to very little wear and no graining, the drivers were able to extend their C5 stint, effectively managing thermal degradation on the rears. The pit stop windows were in line with our expectations and I believe the variety of strategies also owed something to the decision to introduce a gap in the compounds selected. The Hard saw very little use, because it was at a disadvantage on this track that offered little grip all weekend.

“Part of the Pirelli crew here in Mexico City this week, will be back at the circuit on Tuesday and Wednesday for development testing of the softer compounds in the 2026 range of tyres. A mule car will be provided by Sauber on the first day and Mercedes on the second. We thank both of them for their support.”

He came under pressure from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who was quickest after the first Q3 run, but will start alongside the Englishman on the front row with a time of 1’15”848. The second row of the grid tomorrow will see Lewis Hamilton in the second Ferrari start third thanks to a lap in 1’15”938, with George Russell next to him in fourth for Mercedes.  

The third row sees championship contender Max Verstappen (Red Bull) fifth and the second Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli in sixth. Last year’s winner in Mexico City, Carlos Sainz, qualified seventh, one place ahead of championship leader Oscar Piastri, but the Spaniard takes a five place grid penalty tomorrow. 

The Pirelli Pole Position Award was presented to Norris by Rome Flynn. The American actor first made his name as a student of the attorney played by Viola Davis in the series, “How To Get Away With Murder.” His performance in the popular soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful” earned him an Emmy Award as Best Young Actor in a drama series. 

THE DAY ON TRACK 

In FP3, the focus was firmly on qualifying, not surprising as no driver has won this race from lower than P3 on the grid since it returned to the calendar in 2015. Norris was quickest in 1’16”633, putting together the perfect lap, fastest in all three sectors. That time is around 1.5 tenths slower than the best time in the corresponding session last year, most likely down to the higher track temperatures today.  

Hamilton was second fastest for Ferrari, followed by Russell in the Mercedes, who unlike the two ahead of him, set his best time on used Softs. All drivers completed runs on the C5 apart from Fernando Alonso, who despite running six sets of tyres in the session, as part of Aston Martin’s usual scrubbing-in process, had to sit out most of the hour with a technical issue.  

The C5 was the only tyre used throughout qualifying. On what is the third shortest track on the calendar, traffic is always an issue, leading to the usual anxiety about getting out on track to complete a final lap, while leaving gaps to the cars in front. Isack Hadjar was quickest for Racing Bulls in Q1, with Norris stamping his authority on Q2 before putting together another perfect lap to clinch pole in the top-ten shoot-out. 

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

 “Track conditions and tyre degradation in FP3 when race simulation was relevant were very similar to yesterday. However, in qualifying track evolution meant that times matched those from our simulations. 

“In this session the C5’s performance was seen over a single lap. Those drivers who got to the first corner after the long run of over one kilometre, with the tyres at the right temperature across the front axle definitely benefited from a well balanced car and therefore had a competitive advantage. Managing rear tyre temperature in the final sector was the key to gaining a few precious hundredths.  

“The few drivers who managed to set their best time on a second lap probably owe it exclusively to the improvement from track evolution. Track temperature which could reach 50°C tomorrow, will therefore be a key factor when it comes to strategy choices with the aim of managing thermal degradation.  

“With no drivers having saved two sets of Mediums, its effectively clear that a one-stop strategy will be the most popular choice for the race. The Medium has proved to be the most versatile compound this weekend and starting on it opens up a couple of options at least.  

“If drivers can extend their first stint to a window between laps 42 and 48, they could fit Softs to go to the flag. On the other hand, if the C4 performance drop is too high, a switch to the Hard compound between laps 26 and 32 is possible.  

“Starting on the Soft could give an initial advantage in terms of grip, but the heavy fuel load would require the driver to manage their race pace. In this situation, a shift to the C4 would come between laps 23 and 29, or if the C2 is preferred, between laps 20 and 26. 

“Finally, in theory, one can also look at a two-stop strategy, running Soft-Medium-Soft, which produces a similar overall race time to the one-stop. However, the disadvantage of losing places after the pit stops, and the difficulty in overtaking at this track, means this is really only viable on paper.” 

For this race, the Pirelli podium cap feature a bold green base accented by gold embroidery, echoing the green for its flag, the gold for triumph, and the red for the racing heartbeat of the capital. It’s a special edition produced by Pirelli Design with creative input from the designer Denis Dekovic. The cap can be found on its dedicated e-commerce site at https://store.pirelli.com.

The compounds

As was the case in Austin last weekend, for the Mexican round there is again a jump in the compound selection between the hardest of the three and the medium. While the Medium and Soft are the C4 and C5 respectively, as in 2024, the Hard will now be the C2. For the Mexico City track, this compound is an extremely conservative choice, with a considerable delta in terms of lap time compared to the other two, while also offering less grip.

Last year, the Soft only came into play in qualifying and then in the race, only in an attempt to secure the extra point for setting the fastest race lap, but now the scenario could change considerably. The advantage to be had from the C4 and C5 could in fact lead the teams to aim for a race run predominantly on these compounds. However, that comes with the risk of possibly having to make a second pit stop because of degradation. Anyone choosing the C2 could relatively comfortably manage a longer stint, going for a one-stop on the way to the chequered flag, although it entails a reduction in performance.

The use of the two softest compounds will certainly be carefully evaluated during the three free practice sessions, when teams will be able to run long stints with full fuel loads and check the condition of the tyres. Historically, graining levels in Mexico are quite pronounced, since the thin air at altitude reduces the amount of aerodynamic downforce that the cars can produce.
On a track that already offers little grip due to its limited use, the tyres tend to slide, which leads to graining. It will also be interesting to see whether the greater resistance to this phenomenon offered by the current compounds will help limit it and therefore benefit those who are masters of tyre management.

In 2024

All drivers, except Sergio Pérez, adopted a one-stop strategy last year. Most started on the Medium compound, while six drivers, all of whom went on to finish outside the top eleven, preferred the Hard for the first stint. The most effective strategy, in theory and later confirmed on track, proved to be Medium-Hard.
No particular tyre management skills were required to extend the stint on the medium compound, which, in general, showed only a slight amount of graining and very limited degradation. The longest stint on the yellow-banded compound was 39 laps from Piastri, while on the white-banded compound it went as high as 49 laps with Bottas.

The track

The race is run over 71 laps of the 4.304 kilometres of Mexico City’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez which boasts 17 corners. Its main peculiarity is its altitude, which at over 2,200 metres above sea level means the air is very rarefied. Therefore the cars generate less downforce making car set-up and technical management particularly demanding for the teams.

The main straight is over 1.2 kilometres long, on which the cars reach very high top speeds, partly down to the minimal downforce. The track surface is very smooth, and at the start of the weekend does not provide much grip, as it does not get much use. Therefore it rubbers-in over the three days, which is reflected in improved lap times. Drivers will also need to be careful not to lock up the wheels under braking, due to the tyre surface temperatures dropping quickly down the two long straights. Because of its unusual layout, this is also the track where drivers have to change gear the least.

Keyword: test

The long development and validation testing programme to define the tyres for 2026 officially ends in Mexico City. After the Grand Prix, Pirelli will return to the track on Tuesday, October 28 and Wednesday, October 29, together with the Sauber and Mercedes teams, for the final test of the softer compounds in the range, ahead of the definitive validation scheduled for December 15, the constructions having already been validated on September 1.

The development of the new tyres took place over 15 test sessions, each lasting two days, held in seven different countries. Three took place in 2024: in Barcelona (September 17–18) and Mugello (September 8–9) for dry compounds, and in Magny-Cours (November 13–14) for wet compounds.

The remaining twelve sessions were run this year, with most of the test days held at Spanish and Italian circuits. The slick tyres were tested twice in Barcelona (February 4–5 and June 3–4, after the GP) and once in Jerez (February 12–13), while in Italy both dry and wet solutions were evaluated. This took place at Fiorano (June 19–20) on an artificially wet track, while at Monza (September 9–10,) following the Italian Grand Prix and Mugello (September 25–26) the tests were affected by bad weather, which slightly affected the sessions initially planned for slicks.

At Paul Ricard (January 29–30) and Silverstone (May 7–8), the track was also artificially watered to test the Wet and Intermediate tyres. Pirelli was back at the English track after the British Grand Prix (July 8–9) to work on the harder end of the slick range, the new construction for which was developed based on data gathered during the earlier pre-season tests in Bahrain (March 2–3).

Prior to the upcoming Mexico test, the softer compounds were also evaluated in Budapest (August 5–6), in the week after the race. All the Formula 1 teams took part in the various test sessions, having communicated their availability to the FIA and Pirelli.

The new 2026 range, which continues to feature 18-inch rims but with slightly narrower tyres, will be tested by all teams together during the post-season test in Abu Dhabi, scheduled for December 9 at Yas Marina, using mule cars to accommodate the new tyre size.

By the numbers

The circuit named in memory of the Rodríguez brothers has hosted 24 editions of the Grand Prix, twenty – the first in 1963 - going by the name of “Mexican Grand Prix” and the last four taking their name from the country’s capital. Max Verstappen is the most successful driver at this track, which explains why Red Bull is among the teams with the most wins in Mexico, with five in total (2017, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023).

To find the driver with the most pole positions, one must go back to the 1960s, when Jim Clark, driving for Lotus, took pole four times between 1963 and 1967. The last two poles have gone to Ferrari courtesy of Charles Leclerc in 2023 and Carlos Sainz in 2024. Last year’s race was actually the last time to date that the Spaniard, now with Williams, won a Grand Prix. The Mexican round has also been particularly significant for current Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton, who celebrated his 2017 and 2018 world titles here, and holds the record for the most podium finishes in this race with six.

Like most drivers, Verstappen adopted a medium-soft tyre strategy, which required optimal management on the bumpy asphalt that peaked at 47 degrees centigrade, with gusting winds complicating the task further. Easing the demand on the tyres slightly was an early Virtual Safety Car, which slowed the pace at a critical point with the cars full of fuel.

The key outlier in terms of strategy was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc: the only driver in the top 15 to start on the soft tyre. He used the extra grip to brilliant effect, challenging for the lead from  third on the grid – with the soft tyres estimated to gain nearly an extra two metres in the sprint from 0-150kph at the start. To put that in context, there are four metres between each grid slot: so Leclerc’s choice of starting tyre gained him the equivalent of nearly half a grid position.

Leclerc was consequently the first of the frontrunners to pit, going from soft to medium on lap 23. He made good use of the yellow tyre to hold second place, before being passed in the closing stages for the runner-up spot after a race-long battle with McLaren’s Lando Norris (who was on the faster soft for his second stint).

Verstappen’s advantage was such that he was able to make his single stop from medium to soft tyres on lap 33, slightly later than his other rivals, without losing the lead.

All three compounds were seen on the starting grid, with three drivers at the back of the grid selecting the hard tyre. Only two drivers stopped twice: Williams driver Alex Albon and Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, with everyone else stopping only once.

In a momentous week for American motorsport, it was announced before the start of the race that COTA would remain on the calendar until at least 2034.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“Today the teams decided to keep their options open at the start, using mainly the medium tyre on the grid, which is the most flexible starting point for a number of different strategies. Leclerc stood out among the top 10, being the only driver to opt for the soft, which gave him an initial grip advantage that paid off.

The early VSC period allowed a few extra laps on both the soft and the medium, with the medium compound in particular showing consistency that was perhaps greater than anticipated. A positive influence on that was the asphalt temperature, which was lower than yesterday, and track evolution. These combined factors allowed the first stint to be stretched for as long as possible.

As a result, the medium-hard strategies that were initially envisaged inevitably turned into a theoretically more audacious strategy once the halfway point of the race had been reached. A succession of pit stops round about lap 30 saw the red tyre used for the final stint on nearly all the cars.

With the rear tyres not reaching maximum wear, the drivers were able to maintain a competitive pace without having to manage them, also thanks to the setups selected by the teams. Congratulations to Max Verstappen, who continues to fight for the title, and to Charles Leclerc for choosing a different strategy to get onto the podium."

Qualifying got underway at 16:00 local time in track temperatures that reached 48 degrees centigrade, with gusting winds making the task of controlling the cars through COTA’s high-speed direction changes even harder.

Verstappen was fastest in all three sessions, on each occasion using the soft compound. However, he only needed one run in Q3 to claim pole in a time of 1m32.510s, as he missed the cut-off to start his second flying lap at the end of the session. McLaren’s Lando Norris by contrast improved during his second run to line up in P2, while Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc will start third.

Qualifying was interrupted by a red flag right at the beginning of Q1, following an off for Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar, before any drivers had the chance to put down a time. The biggest challenge however was the very high track temperatures, with tomorrow’s race – which gets underway at 14:00 local time – expected to be slightly cooler. Track limits were another factor, with a number of laps deleted, while many drivers waited to start their quick laps for as long as possible to take advantage of an evolving track.

Interestingly, the polesitter hasn’t won at COTA since 2021 – but on that occasion it was Verstappen, who today claims his seventh pole of the 2025 season.

The Pirelli Pole Position Award was given to Verstappen by Zachary Levi. The American actor plays superhero Shazam in the two films of the same name inspired by the legendary cartoons from DC Comics. Levi also starred in the two blockbusters of the Thor saga, as well as the hit TV series ‘Less than Perfect’ and ‘Chuck’.

THE DAY ON TRACK 

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen underlined his mastery of the sprint race format by claiming his 13^th win since the concept was introduced in 2021: more than half the total of sprints ever held. The result closed him to within 55 points of the championship lead.

All the drivers selected Pirelli’s medium compound for the 19-lap race, which was characterised by two safety car periods. With drivers pushing flat-out when it was clear to race, the challenge for the tyres was increased by the track temperature and plenty of debris on the surface caused by a first-lap collision that eliminated both McLarens.

A second safety car with three laps to go lasted until the end of the race, with the Mercedes of George Russell – the only driver in the top three to start on a used set of tyres – finishing runner-up, ahead of the Williams of Carlos Sainz. This was the second podium of the year for the Spaniard, with the top three echoing that of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“As expected everyone opted for the mediums to start the sprint race, with the only variable being whether they were new or used. Degradation was high but predictable, especially following the neutralisation, which then allowed the drivers to push hard without worrying about tyre management.

When it came to qualifying, the times were set using new soft tyres. The high track temperatures made it harder for the tyres to recover their performance after the first flying lap. As a result, the drivers really only had one chance to beat their rivals, with lap times that were a bit slower than expected precisely because of the high track temperatures.

The hard tyre now becomes a valid strategic option for tomorrow’s race, given that the performance gap to the medium is less than expected. Looking at all the available compounds, a number of different strategies are possible with no significant disadvantages: all of which are close in terms of overall race time.

Stretching the first medium stint to a pit stop window between laps 20 and 26 allows a one-stopper, if you then go onto the C1. But a two-stopper is equally effective using soft and medium: starting on the soft and then swapping to the C3 on between laps 12 and 18. The teams can then decide whether or not to run the medium again for the final stint, or stretch the middle stint and use the extra speed of the soft in the final laps.

A one-stopper using just medium and soft would require extremely accurate tyre management and might risk compromising performance, to the extent that we don’t believe it would be a realistic option.

As we saw clearly today, the drivers will have to pay close attention to two external factors that made driving conditions tricky: gusting winds and irregular asphalt. The first issue adds to the risk of locking up under braking and so can potentially reduce the operating window of the tyres. The uneven asphalt can instead cause micro-slides, which raises tyre temperature and so adds to the challenge of thermal management.”

The Dutchman beat Lando Norris, who was quickest in both SQ1 and SQ2 sessions, by less than a tenth of a second, while  the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri was third. Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg continued his impressive run from FP1 by claiming fourth.

In unseasonably high temperatures that led to a ‘heat hazard’ being officially declared, the drivers used only the medium tyres in the first two sessions and exclusively the soft in the final pole shoot-out, as mandated by the rules.

Despite ambient temperatures in excess of 30 degrees centigrade and drivers having very little running on the soft tyre in FP1, Verstappen’s sprint race pole of 1m32.143s was nearly seven-tenths of a second faster than his equivalent sprint pole from last year. Tomorrow’s sprint race takes place at 12:00, in weather conditions that are expected to be similar to today – ahead of qualifying for the grand prix later in the afternoon.

Track evolution was high, which led to many drivers delaying their runs until the closing moments to benefit from a faster surface: a tactic that sometimes paid off, but also caught some drivers out.

THE DAY ON TRACK

The single free practice session, held in high track temperatures of up to 39 degrees this afternoon, was topped by McLaren’s Lando Norris on the soft tyre. Lewis Hamilton led for most of the session on the hard tyre – used throughout the bulk of FP1 – before drivers switched to the soft in the closing minutes to maximise track evolution.

Ferrari instead chose to run to the medium tyre at the end to practise for sprint qualifying (mandated in SQ1 and SQ2): a tactic echoed by Racing Bulls and Mercedes.

The surprise of the session was P2 for Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg, thanks to a quick run on the soft right at the end.

SIMONE BERRA – PIRELLI CHIEF ENGINEER

“As expected, all the teams chose to start the day on a set of C1 tyres: a compound probably not thought of as a competitive race option, and so used mainly in FP1 to help drivers familiarise themselves with the initial track conditions. The real performance gap to the other two compounds is actually less compared to the pre-event simulations, but it’s still significant. Nonetheless, the C1 offered good grip during the performance runs and underlined its consistency in the long runs carried out by some of the teams. Even though asphalt temperatures were higher than last year, the fastest soft tyre laps in FP1 and SQ3 were faster, which is mainly down to the technical evolution of the cars. Verstappen’s sprint pole today was two-tenths faster than the pole time from Norris for the 2024 grand prix here at COTA. The performance gap between medium and soft is slightly bigger than predicted, but that’s not unusual during a sprint weekend, with the teams having limited time to optimise car setup and maximise overall performance.”

The compounds

The United States Grand Prix will be the second race of the season for which Pirelli is bringing three non-consecutive compounds, the last time being Spa-Francorchamps and the available tyres will once again be the C1 as Hard, the C3 as Medium and the C4 as Soft. In Belgium, bad weather meant it was not possible to find out how this choice might have affected strategy and so the event in COTA could be the first real test of this choice, which sees the use of a harder Hard than last year at the American track, while the Medium and Soft are the same.

The increased performance difference between the hardest compound and the middle one should, theoretically, give rise to two scenarios. If drivers prefer the C1, the slowest but also the most consistent of the three, then they could run a one-stop race combining it with the C3. On the other hand, using the latter along with the C4, with its improved resistance to degradation, would produce quicker lap times but would almost certainly require two stops. Another similarity with the Belgian round is that Austin is also running to the Sprint format, which means teams only have one hour to try the various options over long and short runs, which could add to the uncertainty as to how the weekend might pan out.

In 2024

15 drivers started last year’s race in Austin on the Medium tyre, including the trio that made it to the podium, while the remaining five went with the Hard C2. The Soft was never really an option on race day, with only Alpine’s Esteban Ocon fitting it on the last lap to pick up a precious extra point in its battle with Williams, for setting the fastest time.

The most popular strategy was a one-stop, with only a handful of drivers on a planned two-stop, as well as Albon who had to pit after just three laps. Although the Medium showed significant signs of wear in the Sprint, in the main event drivers managed to extend the stint with careful management, helped by a Safety Car period, despite the weight from being on full tanks. Less graining than on the previous day also made the one-stop more effective. 

The track

The Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas is run over 56 laps in an anticlockwise direction. The 5.513 kilometre-long track boasts 20 corners, incorporating sections reminiscent of legendary Formula 1 circuits, with corners taking inspiration from Silverstone’s Maggots-Becketts sequence, Suzuka, Hockenheim, and even Istanbul Park’s famous layout. One of its most distinctive features is a 41metre elevation change, most noticeable with the steep climb immediately after the start line. The variety of corners requires a versatile set-up that can provide top-end speed while still ensuring stability through the more technical sections.

Tyre loading is evenly balanced across the front and rear axles, but lateral forces are greater than longitudinal ones due to the many high-speed corners and rapid direction changes. Tyre degradation is typically thermal in nature and is also influenced by ambient temperature, which can still be quite high in Texas in October. Last year, during the race, the mercury rose above the 30°C mark and next weekend looks set to be similar. The track was partially resurfaced last year, making it smoother and less bumpy than in the past.

Keyword: track evolution

During last year’s Austin race weekend, track evolution played an important role. This phenomenon refers to the progressive increase in grip that the track surface provides the more laps the cars run, not only within each session but also throughout the entire weekend. This is due to the rubber left by the tyres on the track surface, which makes the circuit faster, leading to a constant reduction in lap times. Track evolution also affects tyre behaviour, making them less prone to sliding and degradation. This was one of the reasons why last year at COTA, drivers were able to extend their stints on the Medium compound further than suggested by data from the Sprint race, completing Sunday’s race with just one pit stop.

Statistics corner

The United States Grand Prix is the second round on the calendar in the USA after Miami with Las Vegas still to come. Over the year, the event going by this name has visited six different venues: from the inaugural 1959 race in Sebring to the 45^th edition held in Austin. However, with 12 races held here, COTA is not the circuit that has hosted the most editions, as that record goes to Watkins Glen (New York), which staged 20 Grands Prix between 1961 and 1980. The famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosted eight races between 2000 and 2007, while four editions took place on the Detroit street circuit (1985-1988) and three in Phoenix (1989–1991). Sebring, in 1959, Riverside, the following year, and Dallas, in 1984, each hosted just one race.

Lewis Hamilton holds the record for the most wins (five in Austin and one in Indianapolis), just one fewer than Michael Schumacher (who won five times at Indianapolis). The two are tied for pole positions with four apiece. Hamilton also clinched two of his world titles in Texas, his third in 2015 and his sixth in 2019. As for the constructors, Ferrari holds the record for the most wins on eleven: two at Watkins Glen, five at Indianapolis, and four in Austin.

McLaren picked up 17 points today, courtesy of a third place for Lando Norris and a fourth for Oscar Piastri, thus retaining the Constructors’ title for a second year, its tenth championship win. Not since the four years from 1988 to 1991 has the Woking team managed to win two consecutive Constructors’ titles. McLaren is now on its own in second place in this particular list, behind Ferrari on 16.

Max Verstappen has yet to break his duck at the Singapore Grand Prix, this being the third time he has finished second, and his fourth time on the podium.

THE DAY ON TRACK   

Medium and Soft were the compounds chosen for the start of the race. As predicted, most of the drivers (14) opted for the C4, while six (Verstappen, Tsunoda, Stroll, Alonso, Colapinto and Hadjar) preferred the C5. Use of the Hard for the first stint was ruled out as the track was still a bit damp after rain fell in the late afternoon.

The Hard was the most popular choice for the second stint, but the Soft was still in use, as three drivers, Lawson, Albon and Sainz, drove their second stint on the C5. Three drivers, Hamilton, Gasly and Hulkenberg, pitted twice.

Overall, the C3 and C4 did a similar amount of work, the Medium completing 508 laps, the Hard doing four less. Compared to last year, the Soft did more than twice as many laps today, going from 8.67% of the total laps completed in 2024 to 17.66% this year.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“First of all, congratulations to George Russell for the win and to McLaren for the Constructors’ title!

“As for the race, we had yet further confirmation that the current generation of cars has reached such a sophisticated level of development that overtaking is really complicated, especially on a track like Singapore, which by its very nature does not make this an easy task. On top of that, the teams and drivers have become ever more adept at tyre management, to the extent that we saw stints of 50 laps on the Medium and 38 on the Soft. To be honest, even if we had brought a theoretical C8 compound here it wouldn’t have made much difference to how the race unfolded!

“This evening, as we had expected, all three compounds were competitive. At the start, the Soft became an interesting choice, partly because of the rain that fell shortly before the cars went out onto the grid, after which it proved to be very quick, as demonstrated by Hamilton and Sainz as they fought their way back. All in all, the Medium offered the best balance between consistency and performance, but the Hard also delivered good performance.”

The Feature Race was very exciting with rain putting in an appearance in the closing stages. Following a Safety Car, some drivers chose to pit for rain tyres while the leaders opted to stay out on slicks. That led to a very exciting final lap, featuring a duel between the two Drivers’ title contenders, Doriane Pin and Maya Weug. The Scuderia Ferrari driver came out on top, with a great overtaking move right at the very end to lead home her Mercedes-Prema opponent by less than half a second. Making it to the third step of the podium was Ella Lloyd (McLaren-Rodin).

With just one round remaining, only nine points separate Pin (151 points) from Weug (142) and Lloyd (101) now up to third, having moved ahead of Chloe Chambers (99).

Starting alongside him on the front row will be Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen (1’29 “340) who yet again just missed out on the number one slot that still eludes him at this track. The second row sees Oscar Piastri third for McLaren in 1’29”524 and Andrea Kimi Antonelli (1’29”537) fourth in the other Mercedes. The Pirelli Pole Position Awards was presented to Russell by Alan Walker. The Norwegian DJ and producer achieved worldwide success in 2015 with his track “Faded.” His electronic music tracks have been streamed over a hundred billion times with nearly 36 billion views on YouTube. After the Walkerworld tour in Europe and North America, the artist performed today in Singapore just before the Grand Prix qualifying session.

THE DAY ON TRACK 

In the third free practice session the teams worked mainly on preparing for qualifying, even if some drivers also did several longer runs to get some feedback on tyre behaviour in a race situation. Seven teams used one set of Medium and one of Soft with both drivers. That included Aston Martin who also did their usual scrubbing-in lap on a set of Hards. Mercedes and Williams only ran the Soft compound. In qualifying red was the only colour seen on track, with the C5 doing all the work.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“A very closely contested qualifying session, with Mercedes particularly brilliant taking a possibly surprising but absolutely well-deserved pole with Russell. It was interesting to see a remarkable balance across all three segments of qualifying: 15 drivers within eight-tenths in Q1, ten within less than half a second in Q2, and the top ten all in under 1’30” in Q3. Russell’s pole was a record, 367 thousandths quicker than last year although in line with our pre-event simulations. Today the track improved significantly during FP3 and at the start of qualifying, then stabilised in the final stages. The C5 offered a good level of performance even on the second or third timed lap, and even more so on an actual second attempt.

“We know how crucial qualifying is on this circuit, as seen from the fact that in the fifteen races held here so far, the winner has started from the front row on all but three occasions. Tomorrow we will most likely see a one-stop race, although the increase in pit-lane speed, from 60 to 80 km/h, makes a two-stop slightly more appealing, especially if there was to be a safety car or the opening of a clean-air window during the race.

“I believe all three compounds could be used tomorrow evening. Everyone has one set of Mediums and one of Hards, but the Soft could also play a role, either at the start or at the end of the race. The greater grip offered by the C5 could be exploited at the start to gain vital positions on a track where overtaking is always difficult, although now less so than in the past.”

Lia Block won the Singapore F1 Academy Sprint Race. The Williams-ART Grand Prix driver started from pole position and led all the way to the chequered flag, fending off a very feisty Maya Weug (Scuderia Ferrari-MP Motorsport) who had started from eighth place, having secured pole position yesterday. She crossed the line just 649 thousandths behind the winner. Chloe Chambers (Red Bull Ford-Campos Racing) was third.

In the Drivers’ championship, Doriane Pin still leads on 132 points, with Maya Weug second, having closed the gap to 17 points and Chloe Chambers is third on 99.

THE DAY ON TRACK

Both sessions were almost identical in how they were run: eight teams and 16 drivers ran one set of Hard and one of Soft in FP1 and then in FP2 with one set of Medium and another of Soft for the qualifying simulations. The only exceptions were the Aston Martin drivers who first went out in FP1 on Mediums before using Hards in FP2 and the Mercedes drivers went from Hard to Medium in FP1. In fact their driver George Russell was unable to do any running on the Soft today as he crashed at the start of FP2 when still on Mediums.

SIMONE BERRA – PIRELLI CHIEF ENGINEER

“Today’s practice was somewhat inconclusive because of several interruptions to FP2 which reduced the available track time and therefore the amount of data gathered, especially when it comes to how the tyres behave over a long distance. However, there are some interesting takeaways. First of all, the track is providing a good level of grip, partly because the organisers have done a good job with high—pressure water jets and because several sections have been resurfaced, offering more grip than last year. The improvement in performance was more obvious in FP1 than in FP2, as the latter was really complicated because off all the interruptions. But anyway, there is still a big margin for improvement.

“All three compounds worked as expected and the performance differences between them are in line with our prior simulations. Almost all the drivers used the same number of tyres: two sets of Soft, one of Hard and one of Medium, except the Mercedes duo as they alternated between Medium and Hard in FP1 and Russell was unable to try the softest compound because of his crash. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how the two sets of Mediums are managed during tomorrow’s free practice, in view of Sunday’s race.

“The increase in the speed limit here from 60 to 80 km/h could have an impact on strategies. With the time required to change tyres reduced by around six seconds, a two-stop could in theory be a viable option, even if we know the teams usually prefer to extend the stints and minimise time lost in pit lane. What we can be sure of is that, now, if the race was to be neutralised, it could make a second pit stop a much more attractive proposition than in the past.

“Finally, it’s worth noting that at first glance all three compounds, including the Soft, seem viable for the race: those choosing the C5 at the start might aim to exploit the extra grip to gain some positions in the early stages, or alternatively, use it at the end of the race.”

The shift a long way south from Baku means a big change in two elements of the weather, namely humidity and temperature. The former is usually above 70%, while the temperature which remains more or less the same in winter and summer, fluctuates between 24 and 31°C. This makes the Singapore weekend one of the most physically demanding for the drivers, who can lose up to three kilos in weight during the race, aggravated by the twisty nature of the track which offers little respite when at the wheel.

The Singapore Grand Prix was the very first to be run entirely at night since its inception in 2008, with the race starting at 8pm local time. This means that everyone involved can effectively stay on European time, thus at least eliminating the problem of jetlag.

Once again for this round, there’s a special edition of the Pirelli Podium Cap, produced by Pirelli Design with the creative contribution of designer Denis Dekovic. It is magenta in colour, capturing the intensity and vitality for which this race in Asia is famous. The Podium Cap is already available for purchase on the dedicated e-commerce platform (https://store.pirelli.com/).

The compounds

Pirelli has made no changes since last year for the dry weather compounds at the Marina Bay circuit, with the C3 as Hard, the C4 as Medium and the C5 as Soft. Although there exists the softer still C6, when the compounds for the second part of the season were announced during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, evaluations carried out before the summer break ruled out the softest tyre in the 2025 range, because the forces exerted on the tyres and the high temperatures at this event might have created some overheating issues. In fact, in this race, thermal stress is the main cause of tyre performance degradation.

Medium and Hard will clearly be the compounds of choice for the race, but the Soft could come into play for any driver wanting to make the most of its extra grip at the start, or if there’s a Safety Car period towards the end of the race. Modifications made to the track layout a couple of years ago mean overtaking is a bit easier, although obviously, it is still rather complicated to get past another car. Therefore, being able to call on the big performance difference between relatively new Softs and Mediums or Hards that have done many laps, could be a factor to bear in mind.

In 2024

The Medium was the most popular choice for the start with 14 drivers going for the C4, while four went with the Hard and two the Soft. The flexibility of the Medium meant there were several possibilities in terms of when to make the only tyre change, as the one-stop strategy was, as usual, clearly the fastest choice. Traffic and tyre management allowed drivers to extend the opening stint, in the most extreme case to 49 laps. Last year’s race was one of the very few at this track not to have required the Safety Car to put in an appearance.

The track

Marina Bay is one of the twistiest circuits on the calendar, its 4.940 kilometres featuring 19 corners since modifications made in 2023 reduced the number from 23. This was done by putting a 400 metre-long straight into the section after turn 16. The track surface has the same characteristics as the neighbouring city streets, with very low roughness, while the many road markings can pose an additional hazard in the rain. There is not much in the way of run-off areas and the barriers are very close, even though, in parts the track is actually quite wide.

There are four DRS zones, but as mentioned, overtaking is generally a rarity. The increase in the pit lane speed limit from 60 to 80 km/h should have a significant effect on strategy, with a one-stop almost obligatory.

Variables that are hard to predict include neutralisations and the weather, which at the Equator is highly changeable. Thunderstorms are far from uncommon and the rain can wash away the rubber laid down, which resets track conditions, thus influencing tyre performance.

Keyword: darkness

The Singapore Grand Prix was Formula 1’s first night race, a feature later imitated by a few other events, the most recent addition to the calendar being Las Vegas. The Marina Bay circuit therefore had to pioneer the significant technology required to light up the track and ensure the best possible visibility for drivers on track. The particular challenge is dealing with light reflecting off the track surface and onto visors, thus making it difficult to pinpoint exact braking points. Usually with night races, the temperature during the actual race is lower than that seen in other sessions held earlier in the day. However, in Singapore this is hardly the case because the latitude here means the difference in temperature from day to night is almost negligible. Whereas in other night races such as those in the deserts of Abu Dhabi and Jeddah the difference is much more pronounced.

Statistics corner

There have been 15 editions of the Singapore Grand Prix to date and in ten of them, or two thirds, the winner has started from pole position. It shows just how important is qualifying, especially if a comparison is made with Monaco where 46.48% of the races have been won from pole. Only in the very first year in 2008, has the winner come from a position lower than fifth. Fernando Alonso started from 15th, but that race featured a completely chaotic sequence of events.

The most successful driver in Singapore is Sebastian Vettel with five wins, followed by Lewis Hamilton on four. Seven drivers have shared all the wins here and four of them will be on track this weekend. Unusually, Max Verstappen is not one of them, as he is yet to break his duck at Marina Bay. Not only has he never won, he has never taken pole, although he has made it to the podium on three occasions. Of the teams, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull lead the way on four wins apiece. When it comes to pole positions, Vettel and Hamilton top the table on four, with Ferrari the clear leader among the teams with seven. The German driver also has the most podium finishes on eight, ahead of Hamilton on seven and Alonso on five. Red Bull leads the teams with 15 ahead of Ferrari on 11, while Mercedes and McLaren are third equal on seven.

George Russell (Mercedes) finished second, to record the 22^nd podium finish of his career, his sixth this season. Carlos Sainz was third, the Spaniard’s first top-three result with Williams. The English team has not had a podium finish since the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix. It had previously finished third in Baku in 2017 courtesy of Lance Stroll.

THE DAY ON TRACK   

For the start, the field was fairly evenly split between those opting for the Medium (11 drivers) and the Hard (9). The longest stint was down to Esteban Ocon (Haas) who drive 49 laps on the Hard. He had to stop on lap 1 to change a broken front wing, taking on Mediums, before pitting almost immediately again for another set of Hards, with the aim of going all the way to the flag with no more stops, which he did.

Lando Norris (McLaren) and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) both drove the longest stints on the Medium, completing 37 laps.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“On this track, a one-stop has always been an almost mandatory strategy and today was no exception, even though we brought a softer range of compounds than last year. Additionally, the fact it was cooler than usual helped the teams and drivers manage thermal degradation, particularly on the rear axle.

“As a result, it was a very straightforward race in terms of tyre behaviour. The Medium and Hard were very close in terms of performance and also in terms of degradation which was practically non-existent on both compounds. The C4 saw the most use (598 laps, 61.84%) and the Soft never put in an appearance. After last night’s rain, the track surface reset itself a bit and therefore actually evolved significantly over the course of the race. Ahead of us we now have another 2026 tyre development test session. On Thursday 25^th and Friday 26^th September, Ferrari and Haas will support us for one day each at the Mugello circuit, working on a programme focussed on defining the hardest compounds in the range.”

Jak Crawford (DAMS Lucas Oil) took an important win, in the closing stages having to fend off the attentions of Joshua Duerksen (AIX Racing). Starting from pole, the American lost the lead at the start, but at the restart following a Safety Car period he retook the lead to go on and win. Leonardo Fornaroli (Invicta Racing) finished third but a ten second penalty dropped him to fifth, promoting Dino Beganovic (Hitech TGR) to the podium in third place. In the Drivers’ standings, Fornaroli still leads on 189 points, followed by Crawford (169) and Luke Browning (Hitech TGR) on 161.

Tomorrow, Carlos Sainz will line up on the front row of the grid for the 15^th time in his career, six of those being pole positions. Liam Lawson was third for Racing Bulls, his best ever qualifying, in a time of 1’41”707. Alongside him will be Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) just one hundredth slower than the New Zealander. The Pirelli Pole Position Award was presented to Verstappen by Janelle Zharmenova. The content creator from Kazakhstan has over two and a half million followers on TikTok and 600 thousand on Instagram, where she shares her tips on fashion and beauty.

THE DAY ON TRACK 

For the third free practice session, the track was definitely in worse condition than on Friday, because of overnight rain and, above all, because of the wind blowing a lot of dirt onto the track surface. Grip level then improved considerably over the course of the sixty minutes.

As was the case yesterday, the teams tried to save the three available sets of Medium as much as possible. In fact, Stroll was the only driver to use the C5. Six drivers – the Alpine, Haas and Racing Bulls pairs – also used the Hard along with the Soft, with the C6 being the only compound used by the remaining 13 drivers.

Temperatures were much lower in qualifying than in FP3, the track dropping by around 10 °C from 35 to 24 °C. On top of that, there was some occasional drizzle and gusts of wind which further slowed performance, to the extent that the pole time is only slightly quicker than the best time from yesterday’s FP2. Very unusually, the compound use was very evenly split between Soft and Medium in qualifying: 166 laps on the C6, 162 with the C5.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

 “A very unusual qualifying session, because of how long it lasted and in terms of tyre usage. We knew that when it came to overall performance, the difference between the C5 and C6 compounds would be very small and would vary from car to car and even from one driver to another. The drop in temperature the drivers had to contend with in qualifying, exacerbated by how long it went on for, meant the performance gap came down even further. Therefore, the choice between the two compounds was subjective. In fact, at first glance it would seem that the Soft compound was the most effective, contrary to what had appeared to be the case after yesterday.

 “In terms of strategy tomorrow, the clearly fastest route is a one-stop with Medium and Hard playing the leading roles, unless of course there are any neutralisations. As for the Soft, it is unlikely to be used in the race, but it cannot be ruled out entirely, for example in the case of someone looking to do a short first stint, before running in clear air and going all the way to the chequered flag. Obviously a first stint on Medium or Hard allows for greater flexibility, since it’s not out of the question that the race could be neutralised, as we saw in qualifying and in today’s Formula 2 race. The one certainty is that it will be a very unpredictable race, especially because of a grid order like nothing we have seen so far this season.”

Dino Beganovic was unstoppable in today’s Sprint, taking his maiden FIA Formula 2 win, having started from second on the grid. His team-mate Luke Browning made it a one-two for the Hitech TGR team in Baku, while Alexander Dunne finished third for Rodin Motorsport, having started seventh.

As for how the tyres performed, it was hard to tell given the many neutralisations, with degradation making itself felt, particularly across the rear axle, at first because of overheating and then towards the end, through wear, with wind making it difficult for the drivers to keep their cars in a stable condition.

Third quickest driver on Friday was George Russell, who posted a 1’41”770, just nine thousandths quicker than his Mercedes team-mate, Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

THE DAY ON TRACK

Red was also the colour of the tyre that did the most work today, the C6 completing 566 laps (77.11%). In fact, in FP1 the Soft was the only tyre used, something that has never happened in the first practice session from 2019 up until now. This early Friday use of so many sets of Softs is a clear indication that teams are keen to also have Mediums available for qualifying.

There was a bit more variety in the second hour. Eight drivers - Piastri, Norris, Leclerc, Verstappen, Antonelli, Russell, Alonso and Stroll- again only ran the Soft, while eleven used the C5 as well as the C6. The only odd-one-out was Alex Albon who went with a set of Hards on his Williams as well as the Softs.

SIMONE BERRA – PIRELLI CHIEF ENGINEER

“A rather different Friday to usual, which suggests we are in for quite an unusual weekend, at least in terms of tyre usage. We brought the softest trio in the range here, with the C6 returning after being previously used in Imola, Monaco and Montreal. This compound behaved as expected, namely able to deliver a slightly higher grip level than the C5, but within a narrower window of exploitation. Furthermore, as we have seen in the past, feedback some drivers passed on to our engineers suggests that the C5 probably provides more stability in the twistier parts of the track, so that it might be the preferred compound for the key part of qualifying. No coincidence therefore that the C6 did the bulk of the work today.

“Therefore, it will be interesting to see what approach the teams and drivers adopt for qualifying, after making the most of the final hour of free practice tomorrow. Apart from that, it’s worth noting that track conditions are clearly an improvement on past years, a sign of how hard the organisers have worked over the past few days, treating the track surface with high-pressure water jets. This, along with lower temperatures, explains the significantly faster lap times compared to 2024 – they’ve already reached last year’s pole time – and the performance evolution during the sessions while significant, is not as extreme as in the past. Finally, we can report the total absence of graining across all three compounds.”

In a session that was interrupted several times, as is to be expected in Baku, pole position went to the American Jak Crawford (DAMS Lucas Oil) in a time of 1’54”791. He was just 19 thousandths of a second faster than championship leader, Italy’s Leonardo Fornaroli (Invicta Racing). Starting the Feature Race from the second row will be Gabriele Minì (Prema Racing, 1’55”190) and Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix, 1’55”395) while Sebastian Montoya (Prema Racing) was tenth today and so will start tomorrow’s Sprint Race from pole.

For this round, the available compounds are the Soft and Supersoft, as indeed was the case here last year. For the Feature Race, the majority of drivers opted to start on the softer of the two, with just three drivers on Softs when the lights went out. The Supersoft should offer better performance over a 7 to 9 lap stint, so that if there was to be a Safety Car after the sixth lap, which is quite likely on a street circuit, then this would trigger a general rush down pit lane. However, if the race runs smoothly without interruption, the undercut could prove to be very effective. The Soft could suffer a little bit from overheating, but only at a level that would be manageable for the drivers. If conditions are cooler than usual, that could lead to some graining on the front axle, as was the case last year in the Sprint. This would also work in favour of drivers who do the best job of managing the tyres.
 

The compounds

Pirelli is bringing its softest trio of 2025 compounds for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which is a step softer than last year. In fact, the C6 is back as the Soft, having already been used in Imola, Monaco and Montreal. The C5 will be the Medium and the C4 the Hard.

On a street circuit with low levels of grip and wear, bringing the same selection as in 2024 would inevitably have led to a one-stop strategy. At least this way, considering that this year’s range suffers much less from graining, it opens up the possibility of a two-stop strategy. Moreover, it is clear that this year, most recently at Monza, the teams and drivers have become adept at managing the tyres well, so that the race is unlikely to see very different strategies. Although it’s a street track, Baku has some very long straights where the cars hit very high top speeds, that place significant vertical loads on the tyres.

In 2024

The majority of drivers (14) went with the C4 (Medium) for the first stint, with the rest of the field choosing the C3 (Hard). Of those on the front five rows of the grid, only Norris (McLaren) and Albon (Williams) went with the hardest compound. As already mentioned, before the start the entire field looked to have planned on a single stop. However, Stroll and Verstappen made a second stop, in the case of the former because of a puncture and for the latter, in an attempt to pick up the extra point for setting the fastest race lap, as did Pierre Gasly who drove the longest stint, completing 50 laps on the Hard, before switching to Softs on the penultimate lap.

The track

The Baku circuit is 6.003 kilometres long and winds its way through the old town and the more modern part of the Azerbaijan capital. It boasts 20 corners, many of them at 90 degrees. The main straight is very wide and has room for at least three cars to race side by side. However, in some sections of the old city such as turn 8, the narrowest of all, the track is only seven metres wide.

As is always the case on this type of circuit, the margin for error is minimal and the slightest mistake from a driver carries a high price. This means that the Safety Car can be a regular feature in qualifying and the race.

Speeds in Baku also vary wildly. The unofficial fastest top speed recorded in a Formula 1 event was set here by Valtteri Bottas who hit 378 km/h in qualifying for the 2016 race, but there are tight sections tackled at around 60 km/h. That makes life difficult for the engineers when it comes to defining the level of aerodynamic downforce, seeking the most efficient compromise to ensure the car is competitive in both qualifying and the race.

Keyword: Cooling

In Baku, the surface of the tyres goes through continuous cycles of heating and cooling, with very wide variations in temperature over the course of the lap, because of the different characteristics in various sections of the track. In the tight parts in the old city, the tyres come under a lot of stress, thus increasing the surface temperature of the rubber. It then cools drastically, especially in the section from the exit of turn 16 to the braking zone for turn 1, which is taken pretty much at full throttle as the corners within it are really just kinks. Across the front axle, temperatures can reach around 90 °C but by the end of the long straight, it can drop by as much as 40 °C, which can catch out the driver in the braking area during qualifying or if battling in the race, or even more significantly, at the restart following a Safety Car period.

Another factor to consider in Baku is that the buildings alongside the circuit throw shade over the track and, along with the wind, this can significantly reduce air temperature too.

Statistics corner

There have been eight Grands Prix held on the shore of the Caspian Sea, with seven different winners. The only driver to claim two victories is Sergio Perez, driving for Red Bull in 2021 and 2023. The Milton Keynes squad is the most successful with further wins in 2017 and 2022, courtesy of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen respectively. Mercedes has won three times with Rosberg in 2016, Hamilton in 2018 and Bottas in 2019, while last year, Oscar Piastri was first across the finish line for McLaren.

While there have been several names on the winner’s trophy, when it comes to pole positions, one driver is the master of Baku: Charles Leclerc has been quickest in qualifying four times in a row from 2021 to 2024, even at times when his car had not seemed competitive enough to take pole. The other drivers who have secured the top grid slot are Rosberg (2016), Hamilton (2017), Vettel (2018) and Bottas (2019).

Perez leads the way when it comes to podium finishes with 5, followed by Vettel on 3. As for the teams, Mercedes is on 7 ahead of Red Bull with 6 and Ferrari on 5.

This was the four times world champion’s third win of the season, following on from those in Suzuka and Imola, as well as his third in this race, to add to those in 2022 and 2023, all with Red Bull Racing. It’s the Dutchman’s 66^th career win while the Anglo-Austrian team is now on 125 wins, five of them here in Monza.

This race goes into the record books as the fastest ever Formula 1 Grand Prix. Verstappen’s average speed was 250.706 km/h, beating the previous record set in Monza by Michael Schumacher in 2003 with an average speed of 247.586 km/h. In fact, the drivers who finished second to seventh today also got under the Ferrari driver’s winning time.

Just as they did a year ago, the two McLaren drivers were on the podium, with Lando Norris second and Oscar Piastri third. The Englishman also set a new outright average speed record when he set the race fastest lap on lap 53 in 1’20”901, at a speed of 257.781 km/h.

THE DAY ON TRACK   

As expected, the majority of drivers had opted to start the first stint on Medium tyres, while five, Stroll, Gasly, Ocon, Hadjar e Albon went with the Hard. Lawson was the only driver to start on Softs. The C5 made a further appearance in the closing stages when five drivers - Norris, Piastri, Stroll, Gasly and Ocon – fitted it for the final few laps, having extended the opening stint much further than expected. The longest stint of all came courtesy of Ocon who did 51 laps on the Hard, while Norris went furthest on the Medium completing 46 laps. Lawson did the most laps on the Soft (9).

MARCO TRONCHETTI PROVERA – PIRELLI EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT    

“It’s great to be here in Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, a special event not only for Pirelli but also for Formula 1. A week ago in the Netherlands we reached the milestone of 500 Grands Prix in motor racing’s blue riband category, the only tyre manufacturer to do so. Here in Monza, we wanted to celebrate the landmark with our partners in this amazing adventure: Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, along with all the drivers and team bosses. Pirelli was on track at Silverstone with its Stella Bianca tyre on 13 May 1950 when Nino Farina won the first World Championship Grand Prix and today it is the sport’s sole supplier. Formula 1 is an amazing open-air laboratory for experimenting with and testing new technical solutions, as well as for improving research and development and manufacturing processes for our tyres.

“On this day of celebration, above all I want to thank everyone at Pirelli for their passionate commitment and the quality of their work over the years, as well as for everything they will do in the future, as we continue pushing forward with this partnership.”

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“In this Grand Prix, all the excitement was condensed into the opening laps, with drivers overtaking and repassing each other with some thrilling moves. Then, once the situation stabilised, the race became very linear with all drivers trying to extend their first stints as much as possible, depending on which compounds they had chosen for the start. Unlike last year, there was practically no graining today and on this very smooth track surface, performance degradation was pretty much zero. This meant that all the drivers could more or less chose the moment to pit based on their track position, while others gambled going much longer than the window predicted based on how free practice had gone, in the hope of a possible Safety Car, having nothing left to lose.

“We saw some cases of blistering across the front axle, but not enough to have a significant impact on car performance. In terms of wear, it’s clear that those drivers who went beyond the 40 lap mark on their first stint, came very close to or in some cases, even exceeded the wear limit, but without losing performance.

“All in all, evaluating tyre performance in this Grand Prix, I would say they were too good. It will be important for us to analyse the data very well to understand how to proceed with the development of compounds for next year. On this topic, it’s worth noting that in less than 48 hours, we will be back on track in Monza for two days of testing of 2026 tyres, working with Red Bull Racing (Verstappen/Tsunoda and Aston Martin (Drugovich) on Tuesday and with Williams (Albon/Sainz) and Racing Bulls (Lawson/Hadjar) the following day.”

 FORMULA 2 

Luke Browning (Hitech TGR) claimed his maiden Formula 2 victory in the Monza Feature Race. The Englishman won a race that featured several appearances from the Safety Car. He took the chequered flag ahead of the Paraguayan Joshua Durksen (AIX Racing) and Spain’s Josep Maria Martì (Campos Racing). Browning thus moves up to second in the Drivers’ standings, 21 points down on Italy’s Leonardo Fornaroli, (174 points), who won the Sprint yesterday and finished fifth today. Third is the Dutchman Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport) on 144.

FORMULA 3 

The last race of the season had to be neutralised several times and was won by Thailand’s Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak who took the chequered flag ahead of his Campos Racing team-mate, the Bulgarian Nikola Tsolov. Thanks to this one-two finish, the Spanish team has clinched the Teams title, beating Italy’s Trident team by 11 points, (314 to 303.) However, the runners-up can take consolation from the fact their driver Rafael Camara, fifth today is the Drivers’ champion. Prema Racing’s Mexican driver Noel Leon was on the third step of the podium.
 

The Pirelli Pole Position Award was presented to the four time world champion by the Italian artist Nico Vascellari, who created the trophy known as “Chimera” which will be presented to the drivers on the podium on Sunday. Vascellari’s work can be seen in important private collections and museums including MAXXI in Rome, the Bolzano Museum and the Museo del ‘900 in Milan.

This is Max’s 45^th pole, the second at Monza, following on from 2021. His time today of 1’18”792 is not only a record for this track, but is also the highest average speed (264.423 km/h) ever recorded in qualifying in the history of Formula 1, thus ensuring that Monza lives up to its nickname of the Temple of Speed.

Alongside Verstappen tomorrow will be Lando Norris in the McLaren (1’18”869), a time which also beat the existing lap record set in 2020 by Lewis Hamilton in 1’18”887. On the second row in third spot is championship leader Oscar Piastri (McLaren) with a time of 1’18”982 and in fourth place, last year’s Monza winner, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (1’19”007).

THE DAY ON TRACK 

In the third free practice session, a further seven drivers - Piastri, Norris, Tsunoda, Stroll, Alonso, Colapinto and Gasly – did at least one proper run on a set of Hards, while Hadjar and the two Aston Martin drivers scrubbed in a set of the C3. This means Max Verstappen is the only driver to have saved both his sets of the hardest compound for tomorrow’s race. In contrast, Hadjar has saved two sets of new Mediums, while the Mercedes duo of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell have two, even if they used a set in the first part of Q1, the only drivers to have used anything other than Softs in this session.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“Once again a very closely contested qualifying, with all 20 drivers lapping within just over eight tenths of a second in Q1, while the top ten in Q2 were separated by less than three tenths. The final runs in Q3 were thrilling, ending with yet another demonstration of Max Verstappen’s amazing talent. His pole is also significant, as the lap is the fastest ever recorded in Formula 1.

In qualifying, we saw that the Soft was clearly the fastest compound. Those like the Mercedes duo who ran the Medium were also competitive, indeed Russell was quickest in Q1 on the C4, but that was more down to him feeling more comfortable with a tyre that, while offering less performance, gave the driver more confidence. The C5 is a very quick compound but it is not easy to find its peak performance, as was proved by the fact it could produce excellent times even after one or two cool-down laps, or on a second run. This means that once it stabilised, the Soft might give the driver more confidence to push.

“In terms of strategy, from the three hours of free practice it’s clear to see that this will be a race with only one pit stop. Medium and Hard should be the compounds doing most of the work, offering the best compromise between performance and durability and, between the two there’s not much difference in terms of degradation. Having said that, the Soft could find itself with an important role, especially for drivers able to lengthen the opening stint at least to lap 32, or on the other hand, if there’s a neutralisation towards the end of the race.”

 FORMULA 2 

Leonardo Fornaroli extended his lead in the championship with his fourth win of the season. The Invicta Racing driver started from third, rapidly moving into the lead after which he managed the race, fending off the attentions of second placed Arvid Lindblad. AIX Racing’s Joshua Durksen took the flag in fourth place but was promoted to third on the podium after Dino Beganovic was given a five second penalty for an infringement during the Virtual Safety Car.

FORMULA 3 

It looked like Tim Tramnitz (MP Motorsport) had taken a well deserved win in the final Sprint Race of the season, but he was later given a 10 second penalty which dropped the German outside the points. The win therefore went to Poland’s Roman Bilinski (Rodin Motorsport), who crossed the finish line just 353 thousandths of a second ahead of the Norwegian Martinius Stenshorne (Hitech TGR) and 659 thousandths in front of Dutchman Laurens van Hoepen (ART Grand Prix), who were thus classified second and third. 
 

Also catching the eye in Monza at our paddock hospitality as from today, a Stella Bianca (White Star) Pirelli tyre, as fitted to Giuseppe Farina’s Alfa Romeo on 13 May 1950 at Silverstone when he won the first Grand Prix to count towards the Drivers’ World Championship. Made in 1927, the Stella Bianca was a crossply tyre and was a real innovation at the time in terms of performance and technology and was in the tyre range for decades, the longest running tread pattern ever for Pirelli. The Stella Bianca featured all the innovations introduced in the 1920s, including a cord carcass fabric, low inflation pressure, and a “straight-side” bead profile. With the Stella Bianca, tread pattern technology also took a major leap forward, featuring a sophisticated combination of trapezoidal blocks firmly anchored by sturdy bridges to prevent tearing at high speeds. This tread design remained more or less unchanged until the Fifties and was eventually used in Formula 1 with Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Maserati.

THE DAY ON TRACK

In the first free practice session, five drivers- Lawson, Hadjar, Albon, Sainz and Bortoleto – used one of their two available sets of Hards. The Thai driver was the only one to also run a set of Mediums, with the others completing their remaining laps on a set of Softs, The other 15 drivers all used one set of Soft and one of Medium each.

In the second session, a further seven drivers - Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli, Russell, Ocon, Bearman and Hulkenberg – also ran a set of C3 before continuing on the C5. The other 12 started the session on the C4 before switching to the softest of the three compounds in use this weekend. All three compounds were also used for long runs.

SIMONE BERRA – PIRELLI CHIEF ENGINEER

“After a first session which had several interruptions costing everyone valuable time, the second hour went more smoothly, with the teams running a fairly standard programme. It was interesting to see how all three available compounds were used for race simulations. Compared to last year, graining does not seem to be a factor. The level of it seen today is much more localised on the surface of the tyre and did not appear across the board, but on just a few cars. We believe that, as the track gradually rubbers in, it should disappear, especially during Sunday’s race.

In terms of strategy, given that degradation seems rather limited, the one-stop would seem to be the only plausible option, with on paper the Medium and Hard being used. However, use of the Soft for 15 to 20 laps cannot be ruled out for any drivers who manage to run a very long first stint, trying to make the most of its better performance. Furthermore, as it’s likely that by the time of the race all drivers should only have one remaining set of Mediums one of Hard available, the Soft could become an option, especially in the event of a neutralisation and therefore, knowing how it performs over a long distance could be useful. In terms of the time gap between the compounds, simulations seem to be in line with what has been seen on track today, namely four to five tenths between Medium and Soft and two tenths between Hard and Medium.

“Today’s lap times were considerably quicker than in these sessions last year, with an improvement of around nine tenths, mainly down to temperatures being lower by about ten degrees. Times came down very quickly in the first session because of track evolution, while they pretty much stabilised in the second.

“If the Soft proved capable of setting faster times even after a couple of cooling down laps, that was mainly down to track evolution. In fact, we believe that in tomorrow’s qualifying the first flying lap will see peak performance so we will be treated to a classic qualifying format.”

 FORMULA 2 

Luke Browning secured his first Aramco Pole Position Award, fastest in qualifying with the Hitech TGR team in Monza. The Williams Racing Development driver set a best time of 1’32”390, ahead of Richard Verschoor and Kush Maini for DAMS Lucas Oil. But the MP Motorsport driver had his time disallowed for bringing out the red flags at the end of the session. Unlike last year, there is no jump in compounds for this weekend’s event. Pirelli has brought that the Supersoft as the softest compound, but has replaced the Medium used in 2024 with the Soft. This more aggressive choice means drivers could have to be careful in how they manage the end of their stint on Medium, if they are unable to do so effectively earlier, especially for those who spend plenty of time stuck in traffic.

For the Feature Race, it’s likely that the majority of the grid will start off on the Supersoft up until the pit stop window is open, as was the case last year. In 2024, almost half the field stopped at the earliest opportunity, but were then caught out by a Safety Car on the following lap which meant the others were able to change tyres while losing far less time. Amongst these was Brazil’s Gabriel Bortoleto, now racing in F1 for Sauber, who managed to win the race from last place on the grid.

FORMULA 3 

Brad Benavides took his second Aramco Pole Position Award of the season with a superb last lap in qualifying. The AIX Racing driver set an incredible time of 1’38”120. Running in the B group, the American beat Noel León of PREMA Racing who was quickest in the second group by 0’262m while Ugo Ugochukwu, quickest in the A group in 1’38”613 will line up alongside Benavides on the front row.

For the final round of the season, drivers have a choice of the Soft and the Medium carried over from the previous round in Budapest, at which Rafael Camara clinched the title. As per the regulations, the harder compound may only be used during FP1. The track was resurfaced exactly one year ago and should have the same grip qualities as experienced back then. Therefore, degradation could be significant, providing a further challenge for those drivers who struggle to manage their tyres well, especially in the closing stages of the race.
 

The FORMULA 1 PIRELLI GRAN PREMIO D’ITALIA 2025, to give the Monza race its official title, takes place around 20 kilometres from the headquarters of the sport’s Global Tyre Partner and Sunday’s podium will reflect this special link. The top three finishers will sport a unique Podium Cap, part of the 2025 collection produced by Pirelli Design, with creative input from the designer Denis Dekovic. The Monza Podium Cap which features the “azzurro” blue recalling the Italian sky above the “Temple of Speed”, as well as the 500 GP logo, is already on sale on its dedicated e-commerce platform. (https://store.pirelli.com/).

Photogallery at this link

Those three drivers, along with the representative of the winning team, will also hold aloft a very special trophy, which goes by the name of “Chimera.” This name was given it by Nico Vascellari, the Italian artist responsible for the fifth edition of the project set up by Pirelli and Pirelli HangarBicocca. In fact, since 2021, an Italian artist has been entrusted with the creation of a trophy for the Italian race of which Pirelli is the Title Sponsor, incorporating the contemporary artistic expression from traditional art venues to the circuits of the world of Formula 1. The first commission in 2021 was handed to Alice Ronchi, followed in 2022 by Patrick Tuttofuoco, in 2023 by Ruth Beraha and in 2024 by Andrea Sala.

The theme of mythology and speed, already visited with “Tifone” in 2022, is continued this year with “Chimera.” The enigmatic sculpture created by Vascellari represents the movement of the three fastest creatures in the air, in water and on land, the peregrine falcon, the sail fish and the cheetah respectively. Their individual aerodynamics, linked to the wings and talons in the case of the bird, the tail for the cat and the fin for the fish, come together to create a single fantastical creature, evoking evolution, metamorphosis and change. The trophies are made from aluminium, a lightweight material also used in the manufacture of Formula 1 cars, employing a process that starts from a two-dimensional drawing, which is then transformed through organic modelling and 3D resin printing, and culminates in investment casting, one of the oldest sculpting techniques. This unites artisanal craftsmanship with highly innovative methods.

“The reference to the animal world in this trophy stems from mankind’s natural fascination with it, an instinctive feeling that goes beyond and expands our limits of speed, flight and endurance,” explains Vascellari. “Animals are an inexhaustible source of inspiration. When I designed the trophy, I thought about the moment the driver lifts it high above his head: a symbolic gesture to elevate the animal world and nature above us, in an attempt to restore balance. It is also a celebration of nature’s ability to be a source of inspiration.”

“Chimera” will be unveiled at Monza during the Pirelli Tyres Talk session, for media only, in the Pirelli Hot Laps garage (box 7) on Friday 5 September, immediately after the first Formula 1 free practice session. On hand, apart from the artist will be Aldo Costa, Chief Technical Officer of Dallara Automobili and Mario Isola, Pirelli Director of Motorsport.

The compounds

There is no change in compounds compared to last year, when the track had just been resurfaced for the Italian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. The C3 is the Hard, the C4 Medium and the C5 Soft. Twelve months on, inevitably the surface will have aged, but it is unlikely to have any significant effect on the range of possible strategies at this circuit, where cars run in the lowest aerodynamic downforce configuration of the season.

It is likely that the most popular choices for the race itself will be the Hard and Medium. One can assume that the level of graining will be lower than last year as the track will now be bedded in. Time lost in the pit lane for a tyre change is among the longest of the season, so teams will try and run as long a stint as possible, keeping degradation under control, with the aim of only changing tyres once.

It is difficult to overtake at Monza, primarily because of the reduced effectiveness of the DRS, with the cars running minimum aero downforce levels. This too tends to swing the balance in favour of a one-stop strategy. On the other hand, temperature can have the opposite effect given that September in Lombardy can sometimes still feel like the height of summer. This can speed up tyre degradation, which would make a two-stop more competitive.

In 2024

14 drivers opted to start on the Medium, the rest taking a more conservative approach with the Hard. Lance Stroll pitted three times and the remaining 18 finishers were split almost equally between one and two stoppers. The three drivers on the podium all started on the C4. The winner, Charles Leclerc, switched to the C3 on lap 15 and then went all the way to the chequered flag. The McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, second and third respectively, stopped a second time to take on another set of Hards. The aforementioned Stroll was meant to be on a two-stop strategy, only making a final stop for Softs in an attempt to secure the point on offer for setting the fastest race lap.

Graining was the key factor when deciding on strategy, as it was quite significant in the early stints, before dropping off in the later ones. This meant drivers who had gone for a single stop were able to extend tyre usage without paying too high a price in terms of performance.

The track

The Monza track holds the record for the highest average race speed, courtesy of Michael Schumacher in a Ferrari with a figure of 247.586 km/h in 2003, as well as the fastest average speed of 264.362 km/h for a qualifying lap, set by Lewis Hamilton at the wheel of a Mercedes in 2020. Last year, pole went to Lando Norris with an average speed of 263 km/h. Easy to understand therefore why the venue is universally known as the Temple of Speed.

The 5.793 kilometre track has 11 corners and drivers spend 80% of the lap at full throttle, the cars running the lowest aero downforce level of the season with the aim of reducing drag to a minimum. In this context, stability under braking and traction out of the corners is key, especially at the chicanes such as the Prima Variante and the Variante Ascari, where the drivers need to scrub off speed very rapidly. Lateral forces come into play at the fastest corners, such as Biassono and the legendary Parabolica, now renamed in honour of Michele Alboreto.

After the track was completely resurfaced in 2024, this year Monza has concentrated on improvements to the public areas. Four thousand seats have been added for spectators in the general viewing areas, without assigned grandstand seating while the hospitality area above the pits has also increased in capacity. Because of this, the media centre has been relocated to a temporary structure on two floors, with seating for 400, next to the old pit garages.

Keyword: braking

The braking required for the first chicane at Monza is one of the most severe on the Formula 1 calendar. According to data from Brembo, the cars arrive at the braking point at around 337 km/h and are subjected to an instant deceleration of around 5g, as the cars slow to 89 km/h. By pressing hard on the pedal, the driver operates the calipers that grip on the carbon discs. The kinetic energy this generates is rapidly turned into heat which is also transmitted to the tyres. The front axle is the one that comes under the most stress during braking as it deals with the major deceleration. The area where the tyre meets the track, known as the “contact patch” is reduced in size by the camber angle of the wheels, therefore compression occurs that can cause a temporary flattening of the tyre’s profile. This increases wear and can make it more prone to locking up.

Locking up occurs when the tyre stops turning and scrapes along the track. The creates a “flat spot” on the tread so that the tyre is no longer round. This leads to a loss of grip that causes the car to run wide through the corners. The driver turns the wheel into the corner, but the car continues to travel straight on, a phenomenon known as understeer, The occurrence of understeer increases considerably when the wheels lock up as the tyres slide across the surface and no longer generate sufficient lateral forces to turn efficiently.

Statistics corner

This is the 75^th year that Monza will host the Italian Grand Prix as a round of the Formula 1 World Championship. Although this is actually the 76^th Italian Grand Prix, as for one year only, in 1980, the race was held in Imola. Even so, Monza tops the list of tracks that have hosted the most Grands Prix, ahead of Monaco and Silverstone.

Not only do two of the sports greats, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, share the top of the table for world championship crowns, they are also the most successful drivers at Monza with five wins apiece. They both have eight podium finishes to their name, while the Englishman also has the most pole positions on seven.

With twenty wins, Ferrari is the most successful team, almost a third of all the Italian races. It heads the fields for pole positions (23) and podium finishes (72). McLaren is second in all three of these lists with 11 wins, 12 pole positions and 31 podium finishes.

Another interesting “Italian” statistic concerning Monza is that it was the scene of the only race win for a Ferrari engine not fitted to a car built in Maranello. It happened in 2008 when Sebastian Vettel pulled off one of the most unexpected wins in the history of Formula 1 at the wheel of a Toro Rosso. In fact, the Faenza-based team produced another surprise 12 years later, when under the name AlphaTauri, it won in Monza again, with Pierre Gasly at the wheel.

The Italian Grand Prix has decided the outcome of the Drivers’ world championship 11 times, in 1950, 1956, 1961, 1963, 1966, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1978 and 1979. For Jackie Stewart, it happened twice, the Scotsman crowned in 1969 and 1973.

FORMULA 1 PIRELLI GRAN PREMIO D’ITALIA 2025 trophy designed by Nico Vascellari: Chimera, 2025. Commissioned by Pirelli in collaboration with Pirelli HangarBicocca. Courtesy Studio Nico Vascellari. Photo: A. Osio.

Max Verstappen made it to the podium in second place, the first time the Red Bull driver has finished in the top three since the Canadian Grand Prix. This was his fifth podium from five races at Zandvoort, with three wins and two second places. In third spot, Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) secured his maiden podium, making him the youngest French driver and fifth youngest overall, to finish in the top three, at the age of 20 years, 11 months and three days. It was the Italian team’s first trip to the podium since the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which was also down to a French driver, when Pierre Gasly finished third.

THE DAY ON TRACK   

All three slick compounds came into play right from the choices made on the starting grid. For the opening stint, 14 drivers chose the Medium, four went with the Soft and two opted for the Hard.

The C2 compound saw the most use, covering almost 50% of all laps completed (658 laps, 48.28%) followed by the Medium (399, 29.27%) and the Soft (306, 22,45%). The longest stint overall was completed by Bearman in the Haas who did 53 laps on the Hard, while Verstappen went furthest on the Medium (30) with Lawson heading the list on Softs with 25.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“Despite earlier predictions to the contrary, this Grand Prix was unpredictable right to the end, especially because of the many neutralisations following crashes and retirements. Piastri won not just because he had a very good car, but also because he perfectly managed all the crucial moments, especially the three restarts after the Safety Car periods.

“As for the tyres, the most positive aspect to emerge from this weekend is that, even though we brought a softer trio of dry weather compounds here than last year, all three of them proved to be competitive in the race, as can be seen from the way the mileage was divided between them (as mentioned above). The Hard did the bulk of the work, delivering a good level of performance over very long stints, for example from the two Haas drivers who covered over two thirds of the race on one set of C2s. This compound actually behaved better than it had done in the three free practice sessions, so that the drivers were able to push hard immediately after the restarts. Those like the McLaren and Aston Martin drivers who had been able to save both sets for the race were thus able to benefit from this. As for the Medium and Soft, their performance was pretty similar, which is important, especially in the case of the softer of the two.

“Now we move on to Pirelli’s home Grand Prix where we will celebrate with all the fans the milestone we reached today, namely 500 Formula 1 Grand Prix participations, making us the tyre supplier with the most appearances in motor racing’s blue riband category. It is a source of pride and the result of the passion, expertise and commitment demonstrated by so many men and women working at Pirelli since the 1950s. We will start counting again from Monza!"

Maya Weug made a clean sweep of the points on offer in the second race at Zandvoort. The Dutch Scuderia Ferrari-MP driver made the most of the pole position she secured yesterday morning to lead the race from start to finish, also taking the additional point for setting the fastest race lap. The weekend thus saw the Dutch dominate as Nina Gademan won yesterday’s race. Joining Weug on the podium were second placed Alicia Palmowski (Red Bull Racing-Campos) championship leader Doriane Pin (Mercedes-Prema), who now has 127 points. But Weug has closed significantly on the Frenchwoman, as she is just 20 points behind in second place. With two rounds remaining in Singapore and Las Vegas, Chloe Chambers (Red Bull Ford-Campos is third on 93 points having failed to score this weekend.

The second row of the grid features two Honda-powered cars, with the Red Bull of Max Verstappen third in 1’08”925 ahead of Isack Hadjar in the Racing Bulls with a 1’09”208, the Frenchman’s best ever qualifying performance.

The Pirelli Pole Position Award was presented to Piastri by Julio Cruz. The retired Argentinian footballer won four championships, three Italian Supercoppe and two Coppe Italia in 2003 and 2009 with Inter Milan. He bid farewell to the game a year later when he was playing for Lazio. During the presentation, “El Jardinero” as he is known, wore the special Inter Milan edition of the Pirelli Cap, celebrating 30 years of a partnership between the Italian side and Pirelli, one of the longest and most important collaborations in the world of football. Only 1995 of the caps were produced, recognising the year in which the partnership began. 

THE DAY ON TRACK 

In the third free practice session, a further six drivers used a set of Hards, producing competitive runs: Colapinto and Gasly for Alpine, Ocon and Bearman for Haas and Hulkenberg and Bortoleto for Sauber. The McLaren and Ferrari drivers scrubbed-in a set of C2 over one lap. Soft was the only compound used in qualifyinig. The C4 proved it could deliver maximum potential on its first flying lap. Those who equalled their first time on a second run managed it thanks to track evolution, which was even significant within individual segments of the decisive session.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“On a track where overtaking is definitely difficult, qualifying takes on even more importance than usual in deciding the race result. While the McLarens seem to have the edge over the rest of the field, their two drivers are separated by almost nothing, just 12 thousandths of a second in fact. It’s very close behind this pair, with the remaining 18 drivers all within the same second. Therefore, all the ingredients are in place to produce a closely contested, unpredictable race, with the changeable weather adding another unknown factor to the mix, as well as the possibility of Safety Cars always present on a track where mistakes are always punished.

“Although simulation shows that the two-stop strategy has a slight advantage in terms of overall time, we are well aware that the teams will try and make only a single pit stop, because track position established on the opening lap is all important. Therefore we believe that a strategy based on a first stint on the Medium and a second with the Hard is the most likely, as it allows teams to cover for the possibility of rain or a Safety Car. For those opting for a two-stop the most likely choice is to use all three compounds, also because only McLaren and Aston Martin have two sets of Hards available.

“The increase in the pit lane speed limit from 60 to 80 km/h will have a significant impact on the time lost during a pit stop, dropping from around 22 seconds to 19 or 20. But that’s not enough to make the two-stop really attractive. As for the undercut, we saw here in Zandvoort last year that it is very effective which is one more factor to take into consideration in preparing for the race.”

Nina Gademan (Alpine Prema) won her home race from pole position with the other Dutch driver Maya Weug (Ferrari-MP) also finishing on the podium after a fine climb up the order from sixth on the grid. She took the chequered flag right on the tail of the second placed  driver, the American, Lia Block (Williams-ART Grand Prix).

Third place means Weug has slightly closed the gap in the championship to Doriane Pin (Mercedes-Prema) who still leads on 112 points, and Chloe Chambers (Red Bull Ford-Campos) second on 93 while the Ferrari driver is third with 79.

Both practice sessions on this first day in Zandvoort featured stoppages, as several cars went off track, some crashing into the barriers. Focussing on lap times, Lando Norris was the clear leader, fastest in both sessions, in FP1 with a 1’10”278 and in FP2 with a 1’09”890. In the second hour, both the Englishman and his team-mate Oscar Piastri (1’09’’979), got under the 1’10” barrier, but splitting the two McLarens was the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso who posted a best time of 1’09”977.

THE DAY ON TRACK

Despite the threat of rain hanging over the second hour, the rain tyres stayed in the team racks for the whole day. No fewer than nine drivers used one of their two sets of Hards available this weekend. Tsunoda in FP1; Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen, Russell, Lawson, Hadjar, Albon and Sainz in FP2. Actually, Racing Bull’s French driver did not complete a single lap on his C2s as he had to park the car early on the lap with a technical problem. A similar thing happened to Antonelli in FP1 who went off into the gravel early in the session. In the second session, Mercedes’ Italian driver concentrated on the Soft, running two sets of C4 and so he will be the only driver to have two sets of Hard and two of Medium for the rest of the weekend. The other ten drivers have two sets of Medium and one of Hard, obviously apart from the Softs that will be used in qualifying. 

SIMONE BERRA – PIRELLI CHIEF ENGINEER

“Quite an interesting day, with plenty of action as the teams strived to make the most of the time available, compromised by several interruptions across the two hours of free practice. The most significant indication from today is that all three compounds seem capable of playing their part in the race. The Hard proved to be the most durable with the least level of abrasion but, with temperatures like those we saw today this could be slightly penalising in terms of warm-up and performance. The Medium offers the best balance between performance and degradation, but the Soft also seemed competitive over a long run on some cars. The C4 saw drivers make a bigger step in terms of performance compared to the C3 than we had expected, without as mentioned earlier, suffering too much over longer runs.

 “The track got significantly quicker during the two sessions as the racing line gradually got cleaner, removing the sand blown in on the wind. Less significant was the improvement from one session to the next, as only one support series was on track in between them. In terms of tyre use, it’s interesting to see how the teams were split almost equally between those choosing to have two Mediums and one Hard per driver for the rest of the weekend and those who favoured the C3 at the expense of the C4. It means the third free practice session should be particularly interesting. In terms of strategy, possibly even more so than previously thought, the choice between one and two stops is wide open, especially now that the Soft is a viable option.”

There will be celebrations at the Zandvoort track and these will continue the following weekend when Monza hosts the Italian Grand Prix, of which Pirelli is the Title Sponsor. In the Netherlands, all the cars and all the slick tyres will carry a special 500 GP logo, which was revealed in London on 18 February at the celebrations for 75 years of Formula 1. In Monza, team personnel and drivers, will join senior management from F1, the FIA and Pirelli for a celebratory photo a few hours before the race start.

The compounds

For the race in the Netherlands, Pirelli has gone a step softer in terms of compounds than last year. The teams will have a choice of the C2 as Hard, the C3 as Medium and the C4 as Soft, whereas in 2024 the available compounds were C1, C2 and C3. The decision, taken in conjunction with the FIA and the championship promoter, has the aim of increasing the likelihood of a strategy based on two stops, rather than just the one-stop, which has been the predominant choice since this race returned to the calendar in 2022. A further step in this direction stems from the FIA’s decision to increase the pit lane speed limit from 60 to 80 km/h, thus reducing the time taken for a pit stop. According to simulations provided by the teams, the one-stop is still quickest, partly because overtaking is notoriously difficult at Zandvoort, with very few straights apart from the main one, combined with the fact the whole track is quite narrow.

In 2024

16 drivers lined up on the grid on the Medium tyre, while three, Hamilton, Tsunoda and Bottas went for the Soft, with Magnussen starting from the pit lane on Hards. Three quarters of the field made just one stop during the race, taking on the Hard as the second set, while Magnussen went with the Medium. The Mercedes pair pitted twice – Hamilton used two sets of C3 and Russell one – while the remaining three, Tsunoda, Bottas and Zhou, ran all three available compounds, with Albon choosing to run Medium, Hard, Medium.

Hulkenberg drove the longest stint of all, completing 57 laps on the Hard. Piastri topped the list with the Medium on 33 laps, while Hamilton ran 24 on the Soft.

The track

A lap of the Zandvoort track is 4.259 kilometres in length, running through the dunes on the North Sea coast, just under 40 kilometres from the capital of the Netherlands. It boasts 14 low to medium speed corners – four to the left and ten to the right – of which the third and last are banked at angles of 19 and 18 degrees respectively, much steeper than the turns at Indianapolis. These corners generate very high vertical and lateral loads on the tyres, which requires the teams to pay close attention to set-up and management of the car-tyre package. The aerodynamic downforce level required is very high, similar to that seen in Budapest. The track usually offers low levels of grip and this can be greatly exacerbated by sand blown onto the surface by the coastal winds. Being just a few hundred metres from the North Sea, the weather can be very changeable and, at the end of summer, temperatures are usually already below 20 °C.

Keyword: Energy density

Energy density is the amount of energy contained or stored in a volume or mass of a substance. Applied to Formula 1 tyres, the concept refers to the energy that is absorbed, accumulated and dissipated by the tyre when it is run on track. This energy is generated mainly through contact with the track surface and the stress to which it is subjected, from both deformation and frictional forces. The more corners the car drives through or the higher the speed, the greater the energy exerted on the tyre. This energy is turned into heat, increasing the temperature of the rubber, which directly affects grip levels, tyre degradation and performance. Therefore, it is essential to manage energy density in order to keep tyre temperatures within the optimal operating window to maximise performance. Poor energy density management, for example in the case of incorrect car balance, can be a contributing factor to issues such as graining or blistering. In terms of the outright amount of energy exerted, Suzuka, Lusail, Silverstone and Spa are all harder on tyres than Zandvoort. However, the track that hosts the Dutch Grand Prix is the one where energy density is highest, due to several factors including its relatively short length, the high number of corners, combined with the lack of straights where tyres could be rested and cool down.

Statistics corner

This weekend’s race will be the 35^th Dutch Grand Prix to count towards the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. Since the first edition in 1952, all have been run at Zandvoort. The current track layout made its debut in 2021, when the race returned to the calendar for the first time since 1985.

Jim Clark is the driver with the most wins here, on four, all in a Lotus. Behind him are three other world champions, with three victories apiece: Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda and Max Verstappen. The Dutchman leads the way when it comes to pole positions with three, joint equal with René Arnoux, while Clark and Lauda head the list for podium finishes with six each. Ferrari is the most successful team with eight wins, ahead of Lotus on six and McLaren on four, the latter winning here last year courtesy of Lando Norris. On eight, Lotus has the most poles, followed by Ferrari on seven, these positions reversed when it comes to podium finishes, Ferrari on 26, Lotus on 16.

THE DAY ON TRACK   

All three compounds were used in the race. On the starting grid, the vast majority of drivers (15) went with the Medium. The trio of Albon, Sainz and Hulkenberg chose the Soft, while Hamilton and Gasly opted for the Hard. In terms of strategy, drivers were pretty evenly split with ten going for a one-stop and nine pitting twice. The longest stint came courtesy of Esteban Ocon who did 55 laps on the Hard, while Gabriel Bortoleto and Liam Lawson went furthest on the Medium (40 laps) with Yuki Tsunoda completing 17 on the Soft.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“The first part of the season came to an end with a very interesting race, with three drivers fighting for the win. In the end, victory went to Norris, beating team-mate Piastri by a whisker. The two McLaren drivers were on different strategies, the Englishman going for a one-stop, the Australian two. On paper the two-stop was quicker, but the cooler, by about ten degrees, temperatures compared to Friday free practice, slightly closed the gap between the two options, also in part because thermal degradation was reduced for all three compounds compared to what we saw two days ago. Honestly, we still felt the two-stop was best, you just need to look at the gap that Alonso built up, in fifth, compared to Russell. The exception was Norris, who opted to only stop once, after finding himself fifth after the opening lap. The small performance difference between the Medium and Hard along with the clear difficulty in overtaking with cars running pretty similar race pace, made it worth risking an unconventional strategy because at that point, he had nothing to lose.

All things considered, today we still managed to have a race in which different strategies were in play for the win, which made the second half of the race particularly exciting from a tactical point of view, even if not that spectacular in absolute terms.

Before we too go on the summer break following a very busy first part of the season, we still have one more task on track, here at the Hungaroring. On Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 August, we will run a test session aimed at 2026 tyre development. On the menu, validating constructions, as these must be homologated by 1^st September and development of the softest compounds, especially from C3 to C5. Supporting us in this on the first day will be McLaren with Norris at the wheel and Racing Bulls with Lawson driving. On the second day Ferrari will run Leclerc, while Alpine is doing both days, the first with Aron at the wheel, the second with both Colapinto and Gasly."

FORMULA 2

It was a one-two finish for Invicta Racing in the Feature Race, Leonardo Fornaroli winning from Roman Stanek. The Italian’s win was all the more impressive as he had to take a five second penalty during the race. It was his third win of the season, a first in a Feature Race. In third place was the American Jak Crawford (DAMS Lucas Oil).

On a track that was still a bit damp, but suitable for slick tyres, 14 drivers started on the Soft and eight on the Medium. The softer compound suffered from a bit of graining because of the lower temperatures this morning, but it helped drivers make up some places off the line. Pitting at the right moment was vital for everyone, in order to still have a good performance level in the closing stages.

Fornaroli is now on 154 points and increases his lead in the Drivers’ standings with Crawford moving up to second on 137. Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport) drops to third on 135 points, while Luke Browning (Hitech TGR) is up to fourth on 125 and Alexander Dunne (Rodin Motorsport) rounds off the top five on 124 points.

FORMULA 3

Rafael Camara (Trident) was the Sunday star in Budapest. The Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy student won the Feature Race and thanks to the 27 points he picked up today he also clinched the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Drivers’ Championship title. The race started on a wet track but it soon dried out. The Brazilian started from pole for what was a rolling start and then led all the way to the chequered flag, managing the race even though Spain’s Mari Boya (Campos Racing) was an almost ever-present threat. The third step of the podium was occupied by another student from the Maranello Academy, namely Finland’s Tuukka Taponen. Camara’s points total is now unassailable, even if there is still one more round to go in early September in Monza, as second placed Boya is 48 points behind.

The Cinturato Blue Full Wet tyre was put to good use, featuring a new tread pattern. In mixed conditions – the track was very wet at the start before drying out, at least on the racing line – the tyre behaved very well, providing plenty of useful data for future development, not just for this category of racing.

It’s worth noting that the quickest time of the day was actually set in Q2 by Lando Norris (1’14”890) and Leclerc’s pole time would only have secured him fifth spot in the second part of the session.

Of the 39 editions of this race to date, 24 have been won from the front row – 16 from pole, eight from second place. The race has only ever been won from lower than fourth on the grid four times. The lowest grid position that ever led to being first at the chequered flag is 14th courtesy of Jenson Button in the Honda in 2006.

THE DAY ON TRACK 

In FP3, the vast majority of drivers used the Soft to prepare for qualifying. Tsunoda, Stroll, Alonso, Ocon, Bearman, Lawson, Hadjar, Albon and Sainz produced some competitive runs on a set of Mediums, while the Aston Martin and McLaren drivers did their usual scrubbing in of a set of Hards. The Soft was the only tyre run in qualifying.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“It was an incredibly close qualifying session, with the first four covered by half a tenth and the top ten in half a second, which is the best possible prelude to a race that looks like being equally fascinating and spectacular. There’s a good chance the weather could change for tomorrow with the possibility of rain, mainly in the morning but also likely during the race. However, unlike a week ago in Spa, I think that today all the teams have set up their cars for the dry at a track where usually, aero levels are set at maximum. The change in the weather, especially as regards temperatures, could possibly lead to some changes in the pecking order, as was seen in the closing stages of today’s qualifying. All it took was a drop of about ten degrees in temperature, a few drops of rain, and a 90-degree shift in wind direction at key points, such as Turn 5 and the final sector, to mix things up and, more importantly, for lap times to get slower, by half a second from Q2 to Q3.

We have not yet fully analysed the data so we can only come up with some general observations, namely that the drop in temperature may have affected the warm-up on the preparation lap, and not everyone adapted to the changing conditions.

If the race is dry, the two-stop strategy using mainly Hard and Medium tyres is clearly the fastest. The one-stop running Medium and Hard could work for those in the midfield aiming to extend their stints by managing thermal degradation, hoping for significantly lower temperatures than those seen yesterday and earlier today. Among the two-stop options, the strategy involving all three compounds cannot be ruled out, starting on Softs to try and make up places early on and then potentially exploiting clean air after the first pit stop. Overtaking is far from easy here and the undercut is highly effective.”

FORMULA 2 

Josep Maria Marti led the Sprint Race from lights out to chequered flag to take his third win in the category. The Campos Racing driver did not have an easy time of it as he was involved in a long duel with his team-mate Arvid Lindblad and on the final lap he had to fend off an attack from Alexander Dunne (Rodin Motorsport). On the third step of the podium was the American Jak Crawford (DAMS Lucas Oil), who took the position off Lindblad in a very close fight after the Safety Car following Sebastian Montoya’s retirement. All drivers started on the Medium, the only exception being Gabriele Minì (Prema Racing), who made the most of having to pit to take a penalty, to switch to Softs.

FORMULA 3 

Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak (Campos Racing) took his second win of the season, fending off Ugo Ugochukwu (Prema Racing) in what turned out to be a one-lap sprint after a Safety Car period in the closing stages. Charlie Wurz (Trident) rounded off the podium having passed James Headley (AIX Racing) on the last lap.

THE DAY ON TRACK

Over half the drivers used a set of Hards: eight did so in FP1 and three in FP2. Those yet to run the C3 are Piastri, Norris, Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen, Antonelli, Russell, Colapinto and Gasly, a clear indication of their desire to keep one set of Hards for the race. Alonso also didn’t use the hardest compound in FP2, but his substitute Drugovich did so in the first session, so the Spaniard only has one set of this compound for the rest of the weekend.

SIMONE BERRA – PIRELLI CHIEF ENGINEER

“Getting back to a standard format weekend gives us much more time to gather data on how the tyres are behaving, which is particularly important on a track noted for quite significant thermal degradation. In fact, temperatures were a very relevant factor today, especially when compared to those on Friday last year: at times they were 15° C lower in FP1 and 10 °C in FP2. Cooler temperatures mean a faster track which explains much of the improvement in lap times from one year to the next – around 2”7 in the first session and 2”1 in the second. The other factor is of course the progress the cars have made in terms of performance.

We didn’t see any graining and thermal degradation was pretty much in line with our expectations. All three compounds were used in several long runs and that meant we saw that even the Soft is not at all out of the running for a dry race. From what we saw today, the two-stop definitely seems the most effective option, using the Medium and the Hard. These two compounds were pretty close in performance terms so they should both have a role to play.”

 FORMULA 2 

Roman Stanek (Invicta Racing) will start the feature race from pole position on Sunday having set the fastest time in qualifying this afternoon in 1’28”779, the first time the Czech has secured the number one grid slot. Alongside him will be team-mate and Drivers’ championship leader, Italy’s Leonardo Fornaroli (1’28”925). Third is the American Jak Crawford (DAMS Lucas Oil, 1’28”952) while Spain’s Josep Maria Martì (Campos Racing), tenth today in 1’29”301 will start tomorrow’s Sprint from pole position.

The Budapest weekend sees a return to having two consecutive compounds, after last year’s experiment to jump one. This means the Medium and Soft tyres are called into service for the final round before the summer break. This choice should lead to a greater variety of strategies in the Feature Race. Last year, the grid was split exactly in half between the compounds on offer, the Soft and Hard.

FORMULA 3 

Brazil’s Rafael Camara (Trident) secured pole position in qualifying this afternoon with a best lap time of 1’32”510. This is the fifth pole of the season for the championship leader. He was just eight thousandths of a second quicker than Spain’s Mari Boya (Campos Racing) who will be alongside him on the front row for the Feature Race. Finland’s Tuukka Taponen (ART Grand Prix), with a time of1’32”652 while on pole in tomorrow’s Sprint will be Thailand’s Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak (Campos Racing), twelfth today in 1’32”894.

The Hungarian weekend sees a softer compound than last year’s being used, with the P Zero Yellow medium chosen for the final round prior to the summer break. At the Hungaroring, drivers will have to do a good job of managing the tyres, to ensure they last to the end of the race without losing all their performance in the closing laps. This issue could also arise if they stress one of the two axles too much.
 

As from Zandvoort, we start with a step softer than in the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix: this time the tyres are the C2 as Hard, the C3 as Medium and the C4 as Soft. Last year, when three quarters of the field only made one pit stop during the race, the tyres in use were the hardest in the range, namely, C1, C2 and C3. This year’s new tyre, the C6, reappears in Baku, which means the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is also taking a step on the softer side with C4 as Hard, the C5 as Medium and the C6 as Soft, so as to increase the range of possible strategies. Last year in Baku the slicks in use were the C3, C4 and C5.

In Spa, the rain meant it was impossible to fully evaluate the effect on strategy of skipping a compound, but missing a compound step will also be the case for two of the four rounds in the Americas, which are a feature of the second part of the season. In Austin, only the Medium (C3) and Soft (C4) will be in the same positions as last year, while the Hard is harder, (C 1 instead of C2). The same approach will be adopted the following week in Mexico City: Medium (C4) and Soft (C5) remain the same, while the Hard goes one step harder from C3 to C2.

A completely harder step has been selected for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, as last year it was clear that the C5 was not a viable race tyre. Therefore, the trio of compounds is the same as in 2023, namely the C2, C3 and C4 as the Hard, Medium and Soft respectively.

The remaining five races all follow the same pattern as in 2024. For the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, as well as the races in Singapore, Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi, the C3 is Hard, the C4 is Medium and the C5 is Soft. For Qatar, one of the toughest races of the whole season as far as tyres are concerned, the trio will be the hardest of the 2025 range (C1 as Hard, C2 as Medium and C3 as Soft).

“We decided to announce the compound choices for all remaining races in order to allow teams to prepare as well as possible for all the coming rounds,” explained Mario Isola, Pirelli Director of Motorsport. “There are some changes, made in consultation with the FIA and the championship promoter and they are based on an analysis of the data gathered and the simulation work. The choices are always made with the aim of balancing out the validity of the one or two-stop strategy, to increase excitement and deliver a better show. There is no single solution to achieving this, but without looking at the reality of the racing situation you can’t expect concrete answers.”

The compounds

The trio of slick tyre compounds is the same as last year: C3 as Hard, C4 as Medium and C5 as Soft. Up until last year, these would have been the softest tyres of all, but this year, the C6 was introduced. However, the new compound would be too extreme a choice for a track that exerts this level of energy density on the tyres for every lap. Although the actual loads are not that high in absolute terms, the fact that the lap is short means that it increases cumulatively and significantly with each lap. Another factor that plays its part is the high temperature that usually accompanies the Hungarian weekend, leading to predominantly thermal degradation, exacerbated by the very dark track surface. In fact, last year’s race here saw the highest recorded track temperature of the season, at 58.6 °C.

In 2024

The most popular strategy was the two-stop, running various combinations of the C3 and C4. The Medium performed best and 13 drivers chose it for the start. Of the remaining seven, four went with the Soft and three with the Hard. Yuki Tsunoda in the Racing Bulls, was the only driver to get to the chequered flag having made just one stop, while some pitted three times, running a short final stint on the Soft. The Aston Martin pair of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll made two stops, using all three compounds, having gone their own way in terms of tyre management in free practice. The Canadian drove the longest stint (14 laps) on the Soft. 

The track

The Hungaroring facility is currently undergoing a major transformation. Firstly, the paddock area was refurbished and this year, the main changes relate to the pit lane and the main straight, as well the pit complex and the main grandstand. The grid area and the pit lane have been resurfaced, using 860 tonnes of a specially designed mix, using bitumen with a higher softening point. The asphalt was laid with the aim of minimising undulations to provide a more consistent surface. The new surface has already been used when GT races were held here in early July and it will be analysed in the next few days to check grip levels.

Usually, track evolution over the weekend is very high here, especially during the first two days. Graining could put in an appearance during Friday free practice, before gradually decreasing the more the track gets rubbered-in. High thermal degradation is a factor drivers will have to deal with even over a flying lap in qualifying on the Soft. If it is not looked after properly, it could create problems in the final two corners.

Keyword: air

Before the weekend, Pirelli inflates the tyres with compressed air, using a special machine to remove moisture. Then, in the fitting area where all Pirelli tyres for the event are fitted to and stripped from the wheel rims supplied by the teams, special machines pump them up to 60 psi to check that they are correctly seated on the rims. Then, the pressure is reduced to 45 psi before the tyres are collected by the teams. They can choose whether to keep the dried compressed air or to replace it with nitrogen, an inert, non-flammable gas that is less permeable than oxygen. The use of any other gas or mixture of gases is forbidden in the regulations.

At each event, Pirelli states a mandatory minimum pressure to be set initially, as well as target running pressures that must be met for safety reasons. For example, on Friday at the Hungaroring, the minimum starting pressures are set at 22 psi on the front axle and 20 at the rear. At the end of each session, the regulations allow for the minimum pressure to be adjusted to a new mandatory pressure for the following session. 

Statistics corner

The Hungarian Grand Prix first appeared on the World Championship in 1986, the first time Formula 1 had ventured behind the “Iron Curtain.” Since then, it has been a permanent fixture, even during the Covid pandemic year of 2020. Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver with eight wins, nine pole positions and 12 podium finishes. Michael Schumacher is second when it comes to wins and pole positions with four and seven respectively, while Kimi Raikkonen is second to Lewis in terms of podium finishes with nine.

Of the teams, McLaren has the best record here with 12 wins, followed by Williams and Ferrari, both on seven. McLaren and Mercedes share the lead when it comes to pole positions on nine, with Ferrari third on eight. Ferrari tops the table for podium places with 29 ahead of McLaren on 25 and Williams on 18.

Three drivers still racing today took their maiden Formula 1 win at the Hungaroring: Fernando Alonso in 2003 with Renault, Esteban Ocon in 2021, effectively with the same Enstone-based team, by then known as Alpine and Oscar Piastri with McLaren last year win. 

Charles Leclerc made it to the third step of the podium for the third consecutive time at this race. This was also the venue for the Ferrari driver’s maiden win back in 2019.

THE DAY ON TRACK   

Because of the poor visibility due to the rain, after a formation lap, the start procedure was red flagged. The race restarted after over an hour’s delay, behind the Safety Car. All drivers, including the four starting from pit lane were on Intermediates.

After four laps behind the Safety Car, the race began properly on a track that was drying. The first driver to pit to switch to slicks was Lewis Hamilton on lap 11 and within two laps all the drivers did the same. Lando Norris was the only one to opt for Hards, with all the others going with Mediums.

Six drivers, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Fernando Alonso, Franco Colapinto, Isack Hadjar, Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz later made a second stop. The Racing Bulls and Williams drivers went with Hards, while the others opted for Mediums.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT   

“We knew the rain would play its part today and indeed it did. Once again, poor visibility was the main problem the drivers had to deal with and that led to a delayed start, until the conditions improved. The track was drying quickly when the race got underway and the laps behind the Safety Car also helped in this. When the race was properly underway the Intermediates worked as expected, but obviously they degraded quickly, so that after just a handful of laps it was time to switch to slicks. There was a surprise at this point as we expected the Medium to be the unanimous choice but McLaren split their choices. It has to be said that the C1 worked very well and while being slower than the C3 it was more consistent in terms of degradation, despite the relatively low temperatures.

“The drivers at the front of the field all tried to get to the end with just the single stop. Therefore, for them, managing degradation on the Medium was very important, with the aim of limiting it as much as possible, which they managed to do. Those who then tried to push in the closing stages to make up positions felt an immediate drop in performance which halted their ambitions in this respect. Those who made a second stop towards the end were quicker but not enough to improve their position, because once again today, it was clear that overtaking at this track is not as easy as one might think. We brought an unusual trio of compounds here, with a step between the Hard and the Medium, aiming to provide more strategic options. Clearly, the rain prevented us from fully putting that choice to the test, but we gathered some useful insights to help guide our compound selections for the rest of the season."

 FORMULA 2 

It was a very eventful Feature Race both on and off the track. It rained for the race, with the field starting behind the Safety Car, before being stopped two laps early following an incident involving Sebastian Montoya at Eau Rouge.

Irishman Alexander Dunne (Rodin Motorsport) was first past the chequered flag, followed home by Englishman Arvid Lindblad (Campos Racing) and the Czech Roman Stanek (Invicta Racing). However, after the race, Lindblad was disqualified, while Dunne dropped out of the points, as he was handed a 10 second penalty. The win therefore went to Stanek, with the other podium places now going to Ritomo Miyata (ART Grand Prix) and Luke Browning (Hitech TGR).

This has led to a change in the Drivers’ standings. Jumping into the lead after Spa is Leonardo Fornaroli (Invicta Racing) on 125 points, three ahead of Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport) and nine more than Jak Crawford (DAMS Lucas Oil).

FORMULA 3 

The Feature Race could not be run because of the rain. There were two attempts to start it, but the conditions made it impossible to race, so the race was cancelled and no points allocated. Therefore Rafael Camara (Trident) still leads the championship on 126 points, ahead of Nikola Tsolov (Campos Racing) on 98 and Tim Tramnitz (MP Motorsport) on 93.

Starting from the second row will be Charles Leclerc (1’40”900) and Verstappen, just three thousandths slower than the Ferrari driver. This was Norris’ 13^th career pole, the fifth this season. For McLaren it was number 12 in the Belgian Grand Prix. It’s the first time it heads the field since 2012, when another Englishman, Jenson Button, was quickest in qualifying. Norris was presented with the Pirelli Pole Position Award by Belgium’s Thierry Neuville, the reigning FIA World Rally Champion, having secured the title at the final round last year in Japan, driving a Pirelli-shod Hyundai. To date, Neuville has taken part in 175 WRC rounds, taking 21 wins and 72 podium finishes.

THE DAY ON TRACK 

For the Sprint Race, all drivers with the exception of Colapinto who went with the Softs, ran the Medium tyre. Of the Medium runners, eight used new sets while 11 ran sets used for a qualifying run. The C3 behaved as expected, with significant but not excessive degradation. On the C4, the Argentinian was able to run the medium length stint with degradation not too dissimilar to that seen on its harder sibling. For qualifying, all drivers used the Soft, again except for Colapinto, who did his first Q1 run on the Medium. In Q1, 12 drivers ran used C4s.

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT

“A very busy Saturday as is always the case on a Sprint weekend. From the short race, we were able to gather plenty of useful information on how the Medium tyre, used by the great majority of drivers, behaved. Degradation was a factor, obviously as this track is very hard on tyres, but it definitely wasn’t dramatic, especially as there was no graining, something we had already realised in yesterday’s free practice.

“As for strategy, the first thing to take into consideration is that the forecast is for a high chance of rain. Therefore the hypothetical scenarios are many, in every sense of the word. If it’s a dry race with track temperatures significantly lower than today’s or yesterday’s, the Soft and Medium compounds will be the most competitive. As there is not that big a difference between a one-stop and a two-stop, any combination of Soft and Medium is possible. That doesn’t mean the decision to bring a very hard Hard here was a mistake: if we had kept the same trio as last year, the one-stop would have been significantly quicker. One must also bear in mind that overtaking at this track is not that easy, as could be seen in all today’s Sprint races, in F1, F2 and F3, when trains of cars were formed despite or indeed because of the DRS. This means that the start, and especially the first sector on the opening lap, should make the difference and slipstreaming could play an important role.

“If the race starts in the dry, but with the threat of rain, one can easily imagine the Medium would be the favourite compound so as to have greater flexibility in managing the moment to switch to rain tyres or to extend the first stint as much as possible.”

 FORMULA 2 

A two-thirds Italian podium this afternoon in the Sprint Race, the win going to Leonardo Fornaroli (Invicta Racing) with Gabriele Minì (Prema Racing) third. Splitting them was Frenchman Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix). All the drivers came to the grid on Medium tyres. The two Safety Car periods had a significant impact on tyre behaviour in this short race, because during the second one on lap 12, all drivers still in the race pitted for Softs for the final six laps.

FORMULA 3 

Noah Stromsted (Trident) took the victory in the Sprint Race. Having dealt with the pole sitter, Freddie Slater (Hitech TGR), the Dane dominated the short race, crossing the finish line six seconds ahead of the American Ugo Ugochuckwu (Prema Racing). Standing on the third step of the podium was Austria’s Charlie Wurz, also for Trident. As for the tyres, the drivers had to carefully manage degradation: those pushing too hard in the early stages saw a significant drop off in performance over the final four to five laps, thus creating opportunities for those who had been more cautious over the first few laps.

It’s the third time that Piastri has been quickest in Sprint Qualifying, while its the sixth pole in this discipline for McLaren, the same number as Red Bull, all of them courtesy of Verstappen.

It’s worth noting that eight teams feature in the top ten, with the only ones doing so with both drivers being McLaren and Haas, while Aston Martin and Mercedes are the only ones not to feature. Also, the two drivers who took the two previous Sprint poles this year will start from the penultimate and last rows of the grid, they being Hamilton quickest in Shanghai and Antonelli fastest in Miami.

THE DAY ON TRACK

In the only free practice session, this being a Sprint weekend, only Red Bull and Haas did not run the Hard, opting for a set of Mediums before switching to the Softs as usual. As for the rest of the field, the Mercedes and Racing Bulls drivers never ran the softest compound, alternating the Hard and Medium.

As per the regulations, in Sprint Qualifying, the Medium was used for SQ1 and SQ2 with the Soft coming into play in SQ3.

SIMONE BERRA – PIRELLI CHIEF ENGINEER

“With today’s conditions in FP1, namely track temperatures of between 30 and 35 °C, the C1 performed better than expected, especially on those cars able to develop a high level of aero downforce, making the tyres work well with little sliding.

“The gap to the Medium is obviously very big given that we decided not to bring three consecutive compounds, skipping from the C1 as Hard to the C3 as Medium. In SQ3 we saw a difference of around four tenths between the C3 and C4, close to our simulations prior to the event. Actually, the pole time was much quicker than our simulations which are based on the average of those we receive from the teams. It was about a second faster and it is only Friday!

“The fact that four drivers still have two sets of Hards each could mean that some of them might use one tomorrow in the Sprint, given that the regulations state they must all have one set, as well as a set of Mediums for Sunday’s race. The only hour of free practice on the timetable saw all the teams, with the exception of Haas and Sauber bring updates to Spa. This meant there was very little time for the teams to look at tyre performance over a long run. We will know more tomorrow after the Sprint, where it’s quite possible that all three compounds will put in an appearance. Perhaps those who have nothing to lose because they are starting from the back of the grid, might use the 15 laps to check the behaviour of the compounds other than the Medium, which is the most obvious choice for the short race, with a view to Sunday’s Grand Prix. Unless the weather throws all the plans out of the window!”

FORMULA 2

Alexander Dunne will start Sunday’s Feature Race from pole position. Rodin Motorsport’s Irish driver set a best time of 1’57”151, over four tenths fastest than Ritomo Myata (ART Grand Prix), second in 1’57”570. The second rows features the Czech Roman Stanek (Invicta Racing, 1’57”576) and France’s Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix, 1’57”588). Tenth quickest and therefore on pole for tomorrow’s Sprint is Germany’s Oliver Goethe (MP Motorsport, 1’57”893).

The compound choice is the same as last year’s, with the Soft and Medium centre stage. The softest of the two is viable for tomorrow’s race, although it will have to be managed carefully on a track that exerts particularly severe forces on the tyres. As for the Feature Race, last year’s race when the field was divided equally between those who lined up on the grid on Soft and those who went for the Medium, would indicate that both strategies can be competitive. 

FORMULA 3

The American, Brad Benavides secured pole position in this evening’s qualifying setting a time of 2’04”253. The AIX Racing driver will have Rafael Camara (Trident) for company on the front row for Sunday’s Feature Race, as the championship leader was second today in 2’04”359. As Freddie Slater was 12th fastest in 2’04”909, he will start tomorrow’s Sprint from pole position.

Medium is the compound in use this weekend. Much of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit was resurfaced last year and the new asphalt offers improved grip, which could lead to graining on the tyres. Drivers can gain quite a tyre performance advantage if they are able to manage this phenomenon, especially in the many high speed corners in two sectors of the track. If graining is not an issue, then attention turns to managing the tyres’ thermal degradation, which is relatively straightforward as the long straights provide cooling opportunities on both axles.

After the races in Shanghai and Miami, this will be the third weekend of the year run to the Sprint format: just one free practice session on Friday, after which it’s Sprint Qualifying, with the Sprint race itself run over 15 laps on Saturday, following by qualifying. The usual 44 laps of the Belgian Grand Prix proper take place on Sunday. It’s the second time this circuit has hosted a Sprint, following on from the one in 2023.

The compounds

For this event, Pirelli has chosen three dry weather compounds that are not consecutive: the Hard is the hardest in the 2025 range, the C1, but then there’s a jump to the Medium (C3) and the Soft (C4). That has not happened since the 2022 Australian Grand Prix, when the trio consisted of the C2 as Hard, the C3 as Medium and the C5 as Soft.

The new compound here is the Hard, as the Medium (C3) and Soft (C4) are the same as last year. According to the simulations, this trio should make a two-stop strategy even more competitive in Sunday’s race, while adding a greater degree of uncertainty to tyre management over the course of the weekend, especially as it is a Sprint event, with just one hour of free practice and a different dry tyre allocation. With this format, the regulations stipulate one fewer set of tyres than on a normal weekend: each driver has 12 sets, six of Soft, four of Medium and two of Hard. Furthermore, the Medium is the only tyre permitted for the first two parts of Sprint Qualifying and the Soft must be used in the third.

The circuit nestles in the forest of the Ardennes hills and is famous for its changeable weather, even from one part of the track to another and even in the height of summer. Therefore, it’s not out of the question that both types of wet weather tyre, the Intermediate and Extreme Wet, could come into play over the weekend.

In 2024

The vast majority of drivers lined up on the grid on the Medium. The exceptions were Sainz and Zhou who went for the Hard and Ricciardo who opted for the Soft.

The two-stop proved to be the preferred choice with the Hard compound working best in terms of degradation and performance. Of the 19 drivers who finished the race, Zhou being the only retirement, just five of them, Russell, Alonso, Stroll, Magnussen and Tsunoda, who took the chequered flag in that order, pitted only the once to switch from Medium to Hard. Russell won and Alonso finished ninth, the only two of this group to score points. However, following post-race FIA scrutineering, Russell was disqualified as his car was under the minimum regulation weight, which handed the win to team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who had gone for a Medium-Hard-Hard strategy.

The track

Spa-Francorchamps is fourth on the list of circuits that have hosted the most rounds of the world championship, including in the first season, 75 years ago. It is one of the most spectacular tracks, very popular with teams and drivers because of its technical complexity and the challenges it presents. It is the longest track on the calendar, exceeding the seven kilometre mark by four metres. Its three sectors have very different characteristics: the first is the quickest and includes what are probably the most famous corners, Eau-Rouge and Raidillon, after which comes a long straight and the braking area at the end of it has been the scene for some epic overtaking moves; the second is more twisty, featuring a mix of medium-speed corners, several of them downhill; the third is more flowing with a slight but nevertheless noticeable incline. Finding a competitive set-up for all three sectors is quite a task and it is often the case that cars are fast in one sector and slow in another.

Prior to last year’s Grand Prix, much of the track was resurfaced with the aim of increasing grip and smoothing out some bumps. This led to a much lower level of abrasiveness and with more grip available, lap times were significantly quicker.

Keyword: TWI (Tread Wear Indicator) 

TWI is the acronym for Tread Wear Indicator. Just like road tyres, Formula 1 slicks have a physical indication to measure tread wear. On their surface are six small cylindrical holes spread across the width of the tyre, with varying depths depending on their position. They are numbered from one to six, the first one located on the inner edge of the tyre. At the end of every session, the surface where these TWIs are located is scraped using a special tool to remove debris and reveal the holes. The Pirelli engineers then insert a depth gauge in each one on all four tyres and measure how much the tread has worn. This data is then compared and a percentage wear scale can be created from it, for all tyres from all cars, starting obviously from zero in the case of a brand-new tyre. The teams are provided with data from their cars along with recommendations for tyre use over long distances.

Statistics corner

This weekend’s race is the 70^th edition of the Belgian Grand Prix to count for the World Championship, the 57th to be held at Spa-Francorchamps. Nivelles has hosted the race twice and Zolder ten times.

The most successful driver at Spa-Francorchamps is Michael Schumacher with six wins to his name. The German made his Formula 1 debut at this track in 1991, taking the first of his 91 wins one year later and Spa was also where he clinched his seventh and last world title in 2004. Lewis Hamilton leads the way when it comes to pole positions with 6 and podium places (11). Of the teams, Ferrari tops the tables for wins (18), pole positions (17) and podium places (51).

It’s the third round of the season run to the Sprint format, a discipline in which Max Verstappen is the undoubted master. Of the 20 Sprint races run to date, the four time world champion has won 11 of them and finished on the podium a further five times. A total of seven drivers have won at least one Sprint: two wins apiece for Valtteri Bottas, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris and one each for George Russell, Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton. 19 drivers have scored points in the short format, a table headed naturally enough by Verstappen on 117 points.