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WHY WE’VE CHOSEN THE TYRES
* The Spanish Grand Prix is held at the familiar venue of the Circuit de
Catalunya, but in the heat of mid-August for the first time. The three
hardest compounds in the F1 tyre range have been selected: C1 as P Zero
White hard, C2 as P Zero Yellow Medium, and C3 as P Zero Red soft.
* This was actually the same compound choice as last year, because as well
as being very hot in summer, the Montmelo circuit is always a big challenge
for tyres at any time of year. The main reason for this is the high-energy
corners such as Turn 3, which generate considerable G forces. |
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TRACK CHARACTERISTICS
* Although the teams all tested at Barcelona in February and March, there is
set to be a dramatic temperature increase this weekend in the height of
summer.
* The Circuit de Catalunya was resurfaced two years ago, but the track has
progressively matured since, bringing the surface more into line with how it
used to be.
* All but one of the drivers stopped for tyres twice last year, in a race
that was affected by a lengthy safety car period towards the end. There were
four different strategies in the top five, at a race in mid-May with track
temperatures in excess of 40 degrees. |
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MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF CAR
RACING
“Barcelona concludes the second triple-header of this intense season to
date. Although it will be the third time that the teams drive at the Circuit
de Catalunya this year, following the two pre-season tests, the conditions
they will encounter this weekend are likely to be very different: both
because of the warm weather, and all the improvements made to the cars since
winter testing. The expected high temperatures in Barcelona in mid-August
will increase thermal degradation on a track already well-known for being
tough on tyres, so it’s going to be particularly important to manage them
and control any overheating that affects traction. Free practice will be
crucial to accurately establishing tyre behaviour under these challenging
circumstances. With the current cars being faster than ever – as Silverstone
recently confirmed – and the Spanish Grand Prix never being run in August
before, this should be the most demanding race for tyres we’ve seen at the
Circuit de Catalunya.”
OTHER PIRELLI NEWS
* As has been the case for every race weekend so far this year, the
Pirelli-equipped Formula 2 and Formula 3 feeder series will race alongside
Formula 1.
* Last weekend, the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup got underway at
Misano in Italy, with Team WRT Audi emerging on top after winning two out of
three races, while AKKA ASP Mercedes duo won race two.
* During the same weekend as the Spanish Grand Prix, round two of the
European Rally Championship takes place in Latvia – with Pirelli aiming to
repeat its winning result from the first round last month in Rome.
* The planned test of 2021 prototype tyres during the first half-hour of FP2
in Spain has been rescheduled for a later grand prix, in order to give time
to design some new prototypes for next year. |
