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Pirelli advises Verstappen by revealing quickest strategy
- GPblog.com
Due to the fact that intermediates and full wets were driven during qualifying, all F1 drivers have a free choice of tyres. Everyone is therefore free to decide whether to start on the softs, mediums or hard compound. In any case, Pirelli finds it difficult to give advice on what the fastest strategy will be.
For the first time since 2011 there is driving on Istanbul Park again, so there is very little data available from the Turkish circuit. Add to this the fact that the asphalt is totally unpredictable and that Saturday's rainy conditions are not a good indicator of the tyre degradation during the race and Pirelli has many question marks.
Two-stops fastest
The big unknown is the amount of grip. Temperatures remain below 15 degrees, which means that it is difficult to estimate how quickly the rubber will wear out. Teams will have to choose between a one- or two-stropper, the Italian tyre supplier expects. According to Pirelli's calculations, a two-stopper is the fastest, but track position is more important and so the prognosis is that many race stables will still ignore this advice.
Starting on softs and finishing the race on mediums (or in reverse order) seems impossible to the tyre manufacturer. "But some teams may still try it. They can then always choose the hard compound, if they can get that tyre working."
The harder the tyre, the harder it is to get temperature in the rubber. Especially getting the tyres up to temperature seems to become problematic after the start.
A two-stop with two stints of 16 laps on the softs to finish with a 26 laps stint on the mediums should be the quickest strategy. If it's warm enough, the teams can try a one-stopper with 30 laps on the mediums and 28 laps on the hard tyre. The last option is 20 laps on the soft tyre and 38 laps on the white marked tyre.
