Spa: one of the biggest challenges of the year for Pirelli

For its return to business after the summer break, Pirelli is bringing its two hardest tires to Belgium: the P-Zero Red, hard, and the P-Zero White, medium. Compounds which, according to the official manufacturer of the F1, will perfectly meet the requirements of the Spa-Francorchamps route, famous for its strong compression of the Raidillon d?Eau Rouge and for its very fast curves.

“Spa is not just an epic circuit, comments Paul Hembery. It is also one of the biggest challenges of the year for our tires. Mainly because of the very large energy loads that pass through the compounds, both vertically during compressions like on Eau Rouge and also laterally on fast corners like Blanchimont. »

“Often, tires are subject to multiple forces acting in different directions, which increases their work even more, continues the director of Pirelli Motorsport. So taking care of your tires is very important, especially on such a long tour. » With 7,004 km to complete a lap of Spa-Francorchamps, the Belgian event is in fact the longest in the Formula 1 world championship.

“All of this means that there will be a very wide variety of possible strategies at Spa, with a lot of time to be gained or lost depending on the tactics selected, specifies Hembery. However, all strategies will need to be flexible as the changeable weather is what has given Spa such fascinating races in the past. Weather conditions can change extremely quickly here, so the way teams use intermediate or wet tires is often the key to success, as we have often seen in the past. » Putting on wet tires for the final lap of the race in 2008 as it started to rain, Fernando AlonsoAmong Renault at the time, would succeed in overtaking four drivers thanks to this judicious choice. That’s it, Spa.