Pirelli expects similar two-stop strategies for the US Grand Prix
Assessing possible strategies for today's United Grand Prix, Pirelli's motorsport director Mario Isola indicated that the two-stop strategy will be the clear choice for today's F1 race in Austin.
Following a nail-biting qualifying session, Lando Norris will start today’s United States Grand Prix from pole position which is his seventh career pole and the sixth this season. For McLaren, it was pole number 162 and the first at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas.
Norris’ best time of 1’32”330 was 2”393 quicker than last year’s pole and almost 1”3 better than the pre-event simulation times, confirming the improvement in outright performance at this track already seen yesterday. It is also likely the lap times could have been even quicker, thanks to the cooler temperatures towards the end of Q3, but George Russell’s crash meant that the other nine drivers in the final session were unable to complete their second runs.
Commenting on the qualifying session, Pirelli's motorsport director Mario Isola noted: "A very interesting Saturday, although it was a shame that the thrilling climax to qualifying was never reached because of Russell’s crash.
"It would have been exciting to see how the fight for pole position would have gone, with at least four drivers seeming capable of securing it. The Sprint race was also very exciting with many duels and with the outcome being uncertain right to the end."
The sprint race took place ahead of the main qualifying session, and the information gained during the 19-lap dash will be vital for teams, engineers and drivers to define the fastest approach for today's United States Grand Prix.
All the drivers used one set of Medium tyres for the Sprint race. Only five drivers - Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Alexander Albon (Williams), Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) and Guanyu Zhou (Sauber) – used a new set with the others all opting for a set used in Sprint Qualifying.
Isola stressed the importance of the sprint race that provided teams with vital information regarding tyre management.
"For us and of course for the teams, the 19 laps of the Sprint were a great opportunity to see the Medium at work over a long run, given that it will be the most popular choice for tomorrow’s race. Few drivers held back, so we were able to collect some interesting, but not surprising, data.”
Pirelli expects that drivers will elect to stop twice in Austin which is not only dictated by the relatively high tyre wear, but also to the layout of the track that means that the total pit stop time is not very long (20”5).
Isola noted that "a two-stop is clearly the quickest strategy and with nine of the ten teams having already used one set of Hards in the only free practice session yesterday [on Friday], it’s clear the most likely option involves the use of two sets of the C3 and the remaining one C2.
"As to how their use will be split between the stints, honestly, we expect that everyone will try and start the race on the Medium. So, to sum up, the quickest strategy, based on a preliminary analysis, is a first stint on the C3, with a pit stop between laps 16 and 22 to switch to the C2, with a second stop between laps 35 and 41 to finish back on the C3.
"Those who want to run their final stint with the C2 could pit for the first time between laps 11 and 20 and a second time between laps 32 and 38. Finally, a third but unlikely route would be to use all three compounds: start on the C4 (first stop between laps 10 and 14), switch to the C2 (second stop between 34 and 40) and finish with the C3," Isola concluded.
