Pirelli did not expect this strategy at the Spanish Grand Prix

In a weekend where the cars and their tires were damaged by the Catalan heat, Pirelli relied on a two-stop strategy on Sunday. By offering the hardest tires in their ranges (C1 to C3) available to drivers, a double passage through the pit lane could have offered drivers the opportunity to finish the race without incident.  

Except that on the starting grid in Barcelona, ​​the teams surprised Pirelli by choosing soft tires. The calculations and forecasts therefore fell through. “ Honestly, we expected two stops, but it was clear that starting with the softs, the strategy was going to be different », explains Mario Isola, head of the department F1 at Pirelli on the F1 Nation podcast.  

Plenty of pit-stop action out there during the race. A mixture of hot conditions and dramatic moments played havoc with the strategy. Here's how the # Fit4F1 teams coped! 👇👇#F1 #SpanishGP 🇪🇸 # Formula1 #Pirelli # Pirelli150 @F1 pic.twitter.com/SVAsuoGkoT

- Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) May 22, 2022

The Italian thinks that the strategy of the author of the pole position, Charles Leclerc, gave ideas to the other teams. “ I think yesterday Charles' idea to keep a set of new soft tires and when in the press conference he said that could be an option for the start of the race, in fact everyone went straight on the tenders, which was not expected. » 

Pirelli could have been relieved after the Grand Prix, no notable incident is to be noted. “ It was good to see that the teams were able to manage the degradation and see a lot of action on a track where we usually don't have a lot of action. », concludes the Italian. With a risk of rain in Monaco, Pirelli could be surprised again on Sunday in the Principality.

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