Tyre preview: softest compounds despite new asphalt

Formula One's sole tyre manufacturer Pirelli has announced that it will bring the softest tyres of its five-compound range for this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.

Such as at Spa, drivers and engineers will face a big challenge at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, after the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza has been completely resurfaced recently.

The circuit has embarked on a process of renovation and modernisation of its facility, aimed at ensuring its future and part of the first phase of this work has been the complete resurfacing of the entire track.

Moreover, the circuit has updated some of the underpasses: the one at Santa Maria delle Selve and the two on the straight between the Ascari chicane and the Parabolica, along with building a brand new one linking the Vedano entrance to the Parabolica, aimed at keeping pedestrians and vehicles apart.

Additionally, the circuit’s water collection and drainage systems have been refurbished.

In its preview, Pirelli noted that “the work involved a crew of 240 and 92 vehicles. Once it was completed, in early August a team of Pirelli engineers carried out an inspection of the new surface, sharing the data with the FIA and the teams, in preparation for the final European round of the Formula 1 season.

“As is usually the case with newly-laid asphalt, the surface is smoother than its predecessor and darker in colour. This latter factor will have an impact on track temperature, which if the sun is shining could see it get hotter than in the past, even reaching significant highs of over 50 °C.”

Pirelli has suggested that the new surface could offer more grip, which will impact tyre performance and their operating temperature range. It is highly likely that track evolution will be very high over the course of the weekend, as the various categories racing at this event rack up the laps.

At Monza, cars usually run in the lowest aerodynamic configuration of the season to reduce drag, in order to favour top speed.

Stability under braking and traction coming out of the two chicanes are the factors that most test the tyres and, in addition, the lateral loads in the fast corners, such as the Parabolica, now named in honour of Michele Alboreto and the Curva Grande, should not be underestimated.

Although the Milan-based tyre supplier expects that the darker asphalt will lead to higher degradation, the three softest compounds have been selected for this weekend: C3 as Hard, C4 as Medium and C5 as Soft.

As for the strategy, this is a track where the time needed for a pit stop is one of the longest of the year so, on paper, a one-stop strategy is quickest.

However, the new asphalt will most likely prompt teams to put extra focus on evaluating of tyre degradation to see what effect the new surface might have on tyre behaviour over a long run in terms of performance.

Last year, the race was very linear, with the two hardest compounds being the clear choice. 17 of the 20 drivers chose to start on the C4, while only three – Hamilton, Bottas and Magnussen – preferred the C3. 14 drivers pitted just the once, six pitted twice, although in Piastri’s case that was down to the need to change the front wing after a collision with Hamilton. The remaining five - Gasly, Zhou, Lawson, Hulkenberg e Magnussen – adopted this strategy because the drop in performance from the tyres was already too high in the first stint.