Pirelli set to test 2024 soft compound in Mexico

Formula One's sole tyre supplier Pirelli has revealed the compounds it will bring to the United States, Mexico and Brazil Grands Prix while it also confirmed that a new 2024 compound will be trialled at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Following this weekend's Qatar Grand Prix, Formula One will return to the American continent in the closing stages of the season for three races on consecutive weekends (from 20th October to 5th November) in three different countries: the United States, Mexico, and Brazil.

When it comes to the tyre choices, two are the same and one is all-new for this year. The nominations are unchanged from last year for Austin and Interlagos: C2 as P Zero White hard, C3 as P Zero Yellow medium, and C4 as P Zero Red soft. For the Mexican Grand Prix in Mexico City though, the choices will be a step softer than last year: C3 as P Zero White hard, C4 as P Zero Yellow medium, and C5 as P Zero Red soft.

A new version of the C4 will also be tried out at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez during free practice, with a view to 2024. This test will be run in exactly the same way as in Suzuka, where a new version of the C2 was trialled. Teams will receive two extra sets per driver of the experimental compound, which they can use whenever they like during the two hours of free practice scheduled for Friday.

The other two grands prix, in Austin and Sao Paulo, will be Sprint weekends, with just one hour of free practice before qualifying on Friday. Saturday will then feature the Sprint Shootout to determine the grid positions for the Sprint itself in the afternoon. On Sunday, the grand prix takes place as usual. This will be the first time that the Circuit of the Americas holds a sprint weekend, whereas Interlagos has already hosted sprint races in both 2021 and 2022.

With only the season-closing races in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi yet to be confirmed as far as the tyre compounds are concerned, the trio of C5, C4 and C3 compounds has been the most popular choice this year. This selection was used on nine occasions this year. The trio of C2, C3 and C4 compounds, the trio of C1, C2 and C3 compounds been used six times apiece.