SIMONE BERRA – PIRELLI CHIEF ENGINEER
“ .. In fact, the topic of temperatures is definitely a factor to take into account when evaluating today, looking ahead to the race.
It should be warmer and sunnier on Sunday and the track could be as much as ten degrees hotter than it was this afternoon, as the race gets underway at 14.00 while the second free practice started at 17.00.
We saw teams adopt a different approach to tyre use compared to what is normally the case on Fridays. Some teams used two sets of Medium and two of Soft, while others have already used one set of Hard, although the majority opted to use one set of C5 and three of C6.
The level of graining was quite high today, but the situation should improve, even if it is hard to say if this phenomenon will disappear completely in the race. In terms of degradation, we saw that
the Medium and Hard performed rather well, but as mentioned previously, the higher temperatures could mix things up a bit.
As for strategy, the fact that
nine of the ten teams have kept two sets of Hard is a clear indication that this will be the main tyre for the race, with the Soft unlikely to put in an appearance ... Simulations indicate that a two-stop is the quickest strategy and for the moment, there is no indication that this could change, but we will know more tomorrow afternoon.”
MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT
“ ...
difference in performance between the C6 and the C5 is quite small, let’s say of the order of a tenth to a tenth and a half, and that the
C6 delivers peak performance in a narrower operating window. Here in Montreal, several drivers preferred to rely on the C5 that they know well, rather than venture into chasing that extra bit of performance the C6 might offer, feeling more comfortable with a compound that gave them more confidence when it comes to tackling a tricky track like this one with its kerbs and walls. The result was a Q3 order with four yellow circles in the tyre column alongside each driver’s best lap.
The expansion of the 2025 compound range is also having the indirect effect of delivering a greater variety of approaches from the teams and drivers in terms of tyre usage over the weekend and that will be reflected in tomorrow’s race. As for strategy,
we think a two-stop is still the most plausible option, favouring the use of the Medium and Hard.
The one-stop is theoretically possible, but unlikely to pay off, especially as overtaking is possible here. The
C6 could be a useful choice for the start, for example
for those with two new sets of Hards available, who are planning a relatively
short first stint or for anyone banking on an
early appearance from the Safety Car.”
On AccuWeather, they said that at the start of the race, it will be 24 degrees Celsius air temperature with track temps in the high 30s, thus similar to how it was in FP2, meaning the C4 hard tyre will have a graining phase at the start of the stint. But although the teams kept 2 new hard tyres, I don't think they`ll be used in the race. Graining, at least 6 tenths slower than C5 tyre and 14 laps on C6 tyre that LEC did in qualy says all about this. Practically, it`s the same situation here with the hard tyre as it was back in Barcelona with almost all the team avoiding them, from my point of view ...
Bring on smaller and lighter and let's see how we go from there.
