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THE RACE TYRE
STORY
* Monaco produced one of those mixed-up races that the principality is
sometimes famous for, with the full wet, intermediate and slick tyres used –
at one point with all three types of tyre on track at the same time. The
race was won by Red Bull’s Sergio Perez from third on the grid using three
tyre changes, with strategy at the heart of the outcome in extremely
variable conditions. The race was declared after 64 laps, running to the
maximum time limit as a result of earlier delays.
* The race also featured a safety car followed by a red flag period, adding
to the strategic complication caused by a drying track. All the drivers
began the delayed race on the full wet as per the rules for a start behind
the safety car, but as the track dried out many switched to the intermediate
– with the timing of this first stop becoming very influential to the final
outcome.
* An unpredicted heavy rain shower before the start meant that the race got
underway in 21 degrees centigrade ambient and 31 degrees of track
temperature: considerably cooler than the previous days. As a result,
drivers and teams had to react to changing conditions as they encountered
them – trying to leave their options open as to whether to switch to the
intermediate or slick after the first full wet stint.
* A red flag meant that the second half of the race effectively turned into
a sprint to the finish, with drivers allowed to change tyres in the pits.
The tyre choice here was influenced not only by the conditions but also by
the tyres that each driver had at their disposal from their allocations.
HOW THE COMPOUNDS MADE THE DIFFERENCE
HARD: This was a crucial tyre for the race, which worked well even in
crossover conditions. With the track drying, seven of the finishers switched
directly from the wet to the hard tyre after about 20 laps: probably hoping
to go all the way to the finish.
MEDIUM: This tyre was used only for the final stint (with Williams driver
Alexander Albon switching to it earlier). Several other drivers selected it
in order to have a new tyre for the end, even though it was likely to suffer
from some graining.
SOFT: Used only by AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in the race as it was not
ideally suited to today’s unique circumstances. Tsunoda was the only driver
in the race to use all the tyres available: hard, medium, soft, intermediate
and wet.
INTERMEDIATE: In many ways the key to the race, with some initial fast times
set by AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly – who had gone onto the inters early –
convincing many teams to switch to them as soon as the track was ready.
Perez pitted for them on lap 16 and ran the inter for longer than his direct
rivals: allowing him to take over the lead.
WET: Used by all the drivers at the start, in heavy rain conditions. Reading
the crossover point from wet to intermediate (as well as from intermediate
to slick) was essential today, with the racing line drying quickly.
MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING
“This was one of those unpredictable Monaco races where strategy was
dictated by who reacted best to changing circumstances, with those who took
a chance sometimes rewarded. The changing weather after two days of sunshine
added a number of complications to what should otherwise have been a
reasonably straightforward race strategy, with the decision about when to
get off the full wet tyre and which tyre to put on next being absolutely
critical, on very slippery street asphalt that clearly affected the
crossover point, rather than temperatures. Added to this were a number of
unforeseeable factors such as the safety car and red flag, which required
yet more immediate decisions – influenced also of course by which tyres the
drivers had available to them. Perez’s decision to use the medium for the
final stint helped him to seal the race victory, ahead of Carlos Sainz on
the hard, although Perez also had to manage his tyres in the closing stages.
Every tyre in our Formula 1 range was used during this race, with all
performing well despite a completely unknown set of conditions and crossover
points on the tightest and most unforgiving track of the season.” |
