Pirelli ready for season “highlight” at Monaco

With Monaco’s street circuit relying almost exclusively on mechanical grip, Pirelli believes it is the ideal territory for its P Zero Red supersoft tyre – which benefits from a rapid warm-up time and is capable of generating very high levels of traction and cornering forces. Pirelli says the tyre will be particularly important during qualifying, which, with so few opportunities to overtake in Monaco, will be more important than usual. Pirelli also says race strategy has a profound effect at Monaco because it is often easier to make up positions in the pits through an effective strategy rather than by passing on the track. Tyre wear and degradation is the lowest seen all season, making a one-stop strategy a distinct possibility for some teams.

As Monaco is a street circuit, there is a high degree of track evolution over the course of the race weekend, which lasts for one day longer than anywhere else as free practice takes place on Thursday with the circuit is open to normal traffic again for much of Friday. This consequently affects the amount of rubber that is found on the surface for qualifying.
 
Pirelli’s motorsport director says: “Monaco is a highlight of the season and a place where our supersoft and soft tyres have provided plenty of entertainment in the past. Last year, we had three drivers on three different strategies set for a grandstand finish – before a red flag got in the way. The supersoft is the only compound that remains unaltered from last year, as it proved to be so effective on circuits like Monaco, but of course the profile has been re-designed to better suit the 2012 regulations.

“With the wear rate being so low in Monaco, the drivers will be able to push at their hardest from start to finish. Tyre strategy will be very important in Monaco, where on-track overtaking is more difficult than anywhere else. Having said that, the Principality has a history of often springing a surprise. With the cars so evenly matched now, even the slightest advantage or smallest mistake can have a big impact on the final outcome of a race, as we’ve seen so far this season.”

McLaren driver Jenson Button said: “Monaco is a very special place. It’s probably the grand prix track where the sensation of speed is at its greatest, particularly during your first laps on a Thursday morning, when it just seems unreal to be controlling 750bhp through the narrow winding streets of the Principality. But it’s also a place where you find a groove and a rhythm like nowhere else and, before, too long, it feels very comfortable to be reeling off fast laps and pushing the back end out around the corners.

“Monaco will be the first time this season that we’ll have used Pirelli’s supersoft compound, and I’m really looking forward to it. Obviously, we’ll start the weekend using the soft compound tyres, but when we first switch to the supersofts, I know the car’s going to feel very different. As always, it’s going to be fascinating to discover how the tyres react and behave across the weekend – particularly at a place where qualifying will be crucial – but I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”
 
Pirelli test driver Lucas di Grassi said that the race is one of the “most complex races of the year, as you need to be so precise on every lap. Most people don’t realise just how bumpy the circuit is too, so there is a lot to consider when it comes to finding the right set-up and the best way to get the most out of the tyres. With the tyre nominations that Pirelli has made, there are plenty of opportunities for some very different strategies, as we saw last year. So far it’s been a fantastic season, but also I think there are some drivers who should have won by now who haven’t: anything can happen in Monaco. That’s just one of the things that makes it such a fascinating race.”