Race strategies, Pirelli: “Intermediate better than full wet, single stop on dry”

The main variable of the Miami race will be the weather. Rain is set to hit the Hard Rock Stadium circuit, which would put the new cars to the test in the wet for the first time. Even with the new regulations, however, the intermediate would seem to be the most suitable tire for the rain, provided it can manage graining. In the case of a dry race, however, the most likely strategy is one-stop, as Simone Berra, Pirelli’s Chief Engineer, explains to FormulaPassion. Intermediate still favored In recent years the extreme wet tire has often remained unused, as the conditions that would have required its use almost always led to the display of the red flag. According to Berra, however, the preference for the intermediate transcends visibility problems: “If it were to rain heavily and the track were to be particularly flooded, the full wet tire would guarantee greater resistance to aquaplaning. However, we also know that the full wet overheats very quickly and this should push the teams to go on the intermediates as much as possible. We will have to survive in the areas with high risk of aquaplaning, knowing however that a better performance can be obtained in the high-volume corners and in traction from those at low speed. This is because the intermediate rubber, having less movement of the blocks, ensures better performance”. The big question is whether the intermediate is capable of covering the entire race distance. “Hard to say,” replies Berra. “It will depend on how much water there is on the track. If it were enough, the intermediate could certainly do very long stints. We also saw it last year: if it doesn’t rain, the temperatures are high and the track dries quickly. This leads to more mechanical wear on the intermediates, which generates overheating which leads to slipping, triggering graining. This leads to high wear, which in some cases last year reached 100%. In mixed conditions you have to stop to change and put on a new intermediate, or, if it was dry enough, go directly to the slicks”. Crossover Options Sunday in Miami opened with a violent thunderstorm, but the weather should improve by mid-day. The teams could thus find themselves on a damp track, but not completely dry, conditions for which Berra believes that the C5 is the most suitable compound: “I expect the teams to go on the soft tyre. I say this on the basis of last year’s experience, when a wet Sprint was held, with the track which then dried quickly. Last year’s C5 compound was not as consistent as this year’s and had proven to be very fast”. “It is clear that some considerations that the teams tend to make come into play. If the transition from wet to dry occurred towards the end of the race, perhaps with 5-10 laps remaining, the soft would certainly be fitted. If, however, there was still more than half the race to go, it is clear that it would become difficult to think about going on the soft, because the risk is of having high degradation at the end and at that point you would have to stop again. In that case, perhaps the teams will choose the compromise of the medium tyre. Certainly, however, the hard it’s not the right tire.” A dry stop However, the hypothesis of an entirely dry race remains alive, even if the scenario would be far from that of recent days. The Pirelli Chief Engineer comments: “The conditions will certainly be different compared to Friday and Saturday. The sky will be cloudy, the temperatures have dropped and the asphalt will not reach the 50-55°C of recent days. We will have around 20°C less and this obviously helps the thermal degradation on the tyres”. “The soft tire can come into play. The medium should be a very good tire from a performance point of view and, with correct temperature management, it also allows you to significantly lengthen the stint. The hard is also very constant, but perhaps makes a little more effort, because it has less grip, tends to slide and therefore generates more surface temperature.” Regarding the number of stops, Pirelli has no doubts: “From our simulations, given the low degradation, in the dry it should be a one-stop race. […] We don’t expect the double stop, because it’s about 10 seconds slower.” The best strategy on paper is the medium-hard combination, with the pit stop around the 22nd-28th lap, but with ample margin for adaptation: “Since both the C4 and the C3 are very consistent, you can be flexible on when to stop, perhaps trying to lengthen the stints to take advantage of a Safety or Virtual Safety Car.” An alternative would be to mount the soft at the start, then switching to the hard between the 11th and 16th laps, but there is an even more aggressive option: “We don’t feel like excluding the medium-soft strategy, starting with the C4 and trying to extend the stint beyond the 30th lap, and then trying to do the last twenty laps with the soft tire and the more rubberized track, in perhaps more favorable situations for attempting some overtaking on the track”, concludes Berra.

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News
2026-05-04 00:21:00