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THE RACE TYRE
STORY
* From P10 on the grid, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Hungarian Grand
Prix with a two-stop strategy, starting on the P Zero Red soft tyre and then
doing two stints on the P Zero Yellow medium: the strategy we had predicted
as fastest.
* The two Mercedes were second and third, each on a different run plan from
each other and Verstappen, to make it three different strategies in the top
three. There were different strategies all the way down the grid, with half
the field starting on the medium and the other half on the soft.
* The weather made the Hungarian Grand Prix extremely complicated: the race
was run in cool conditions (around 20 degrees ambient and 25 on track) with
rain just before and during the final couple of laps of the race. Some
strong winds also affected the aerodynamic balance.
* Pirelli now remains in Hungary for more 2023 prototype slick tyre testing,
with Aston Martin and Mercedes on Tuesday and Wednesday.
HOW THE COMPOUNDS MADE THE DIFFERENCE
HARD C2: The key compound to this race, which offered both durability and
performance. Verstappen completed the longest stint on this compound of 36
laps. It’s worth nothing that none of the teams carried out long runs on
this compound over the previous days.
MEDIUM C3: The most popular choice to start the race, which showed less
degradation than expected and a very good balance in these demanding
conditions: particularly in the hands of Sainz, who did a middle stint of 24
laps that put him in podium contention from the back. Sainz also claimed the
fastest lap on this compound.
SOFT C4: Starred in qualifying but not used in the race, as the high
degradation made it incompatible with a one-stop strategy.
MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING
“I’m very happy for the hundreds of thousands of spectators who came to the
track and all the other fans around the world who saw three teams in a close
fight for victory for the first time this season. This is a win for everyone
in Formula 1, and it was also great to see around 10 different tyre
strategies during the race – with every compound used – which all played
their part in delivering an exciting and spectacular grand prix, just as we
have seen all year so far. Budapest now marks the beginning of the summer
break, but not straight away for us: on Tuesday and Wednesday we stay here
at the Hungaroring to continue our 2023 testing programme. It’s the final
push before the holidays, which we will tackle safe in the knowledge of all
the work that has been carried out thanks to the efforts of everyone at
Pirelli: both present on the track, and back at base in Milan.” |
