The FIA has told Pirelli each team’s tyre choices for the season closing grand prix of Abu Dhabi on 25-27 November. Championship leader Nico Rosberg and second-placed Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, who has a chance of pipping the German to victory, will both use the same selection: four sets of the P Zero Yellow soft, two of the Red supersoft, and seven of the Purple ultrasoft.
Despite the delays, the Brazilian grand prix became a “fantastic spectacle,” with plenty of overtaking and action on Pirelli’s wet range of Formula One tyres. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finished first, completing the full race on the Cinturato Blue full wet tyre only following two days of largely dry running at Interlagos. Hamilton won without making a racing pit stop, though he did change tyres twice, going from full wets to another set of wets under both red flag stoppages.
Pirelli said that a number of different strategies were in play at the German Grand Prix, with mostly three stops seen and many teams splitting their race strategies. Mercedes was one of these teams, with race winner Lewis Hamilton alternating the supersoft and soft tyre. Polesitter Nico Rosberg started with two sets of supersoft and then ended the race on two sets of soft.
Any tyre strategies planned ahead of the British grand prix at Silverstone were forced to be reconsidered after a torrential rain shower forced the entire grid to start the race behind a safety car on Pirelli’s Cinturato Blue full wet tyre. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won for the fourth time at home using three different Pirelli tyre compounds. When the safety car came in after five laps, a number of drivers went straight onto the Cinturato Green intermediate, while the leaders took advantage of a virtual safety car to switch to the intermediate shortly afterwards.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was victorious in Austria, winning the Austrian Grand Prix from pole position using a two-stop strategy. Teammate Nico Rosberg collided with Hamilton as the Briton passed him on the final lap of an action-packed grand prix, having used the timing of his pit stop tyre strategy to boost his position, “undercutting” a number of drivers including his team mate (who started from pole) to lead the race. Following contact with Hamilton, Rosberg’s car sustained front wing damage, leading to his fourth place finish. More worryingly for tyre supplier Pirelli was the blowout that ended Sebastian Vettel’s grand prix, the causes of which the manufacturer said it was investigating with the constructor, Ferrari.
Though the Monaco Grand Prix got underway behind a safety car in wet conditions, with all drivers starting on the Cinturato Blue full wet tyres, Lewis Hamilton won on Pirelli’s new P Zero Purple ultrasoft, marking a successful race debut for Pirelli’s newest F1 tyre. The safety car came in after seven laps, with most drivers eventually switching to intermediates. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was one of just two competitors to stay out on the full wets as the circuit dried, switching straight to P Zero Purple ultrasoft on lap 31.
2015’s Formula One calendar concludes at Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi; a venue with which Pirelli is very familiar. The F1 tyre supplier has used the venue for testing, including the world’s first wet-weather test run at night, and a pre-season launch. The smooth asphalt means the softest tyres in the range will be supplied, a combination previously employed at the slowest grand prix, Monaco, and at four other race weekends. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is held from late afternoon into the evening, so track temperatures tend to drop over the course of the race, meaning that the pattern of tyre behaviour is different to normal: another complex variable for teams to factor into their strategy calculations. Pirelli expects a performance gap between the two compounds of 1.0-1.2 seconds per lap.
Lewis Hamilton’s 2015 Formula One Drivers’ Championship victory was sealed through a tactical battle in difficult conditions at the United States Grand Prix. Races run in wet to dry conditions always provide a challenge for teams; all the drivers started on new intermediates, waiting for the right crossover point when the track would be dry enough to move onto slicks. Both Hamilton and his team mate Nico Rosberg, who finished second, completed one opening stint on the intermediates followed by two stints on the soft tyre.
Lewis Hamilton’s victory at the British Grand Prix was inspired by an early pit stop to fit Pirelli’s Cinturato wet tyres, having conceded pole position to his Williams rivals at the start. Mercedes made the right strategy call a second time, when Hamilton was brought in for his second stop (for intermediates) just as proper rain hit the end of the grand prix.
Pirelli said that its pre-season data has been backed up by lap times around two seconds quicker than 2014 at the season-opening Australian grand prix. Reigning champion Lewis Hamilton beat his Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg from pole, with both drivers utilising cool conditions and low degradation to perform very similar one-stop strategies.
Lewis Hamilton claimed the second drivers’ championship of his career after winning the title decider in Abu Dhabi, using a two-stop strategy. It was the first time Hamilton has won a championship on Pirelli tyres. The Mercedes driver started on the P Zero Red supersoft tyre from second on the grid, but took the lead […]
Once again, the Mercedes team closed out the top two steps of the podium at Interlagos, using three stops – as did almost every driver – to dominate in the penultimate race of 2014. The only surprise was that Nico Rosberg ended Lewis Hamilton’s five GP winning streak to make the Briton finish at least second to ensure championship victory in Abu Dhabi’s controversial double-points grand prix. Both Mercedes drivers started on the soft tyre to make good their front row grid advantage, before seeing out the race comfortably on the medium P Zeros. Tyre supplier, Pirelli correctly predicted this as the fastest strategy for the 71 lap race, and a high degree of tyre wear meant that all but Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, who finished seventh, stopped three times
Interlagos, in the heart of Sao Paulo, is the second-shortest lap of the year after Monaco. Formula One tyre supplier Pirelli will provide medium and soft compound P Zero tyres to combat the challenges of its series of twists, turns and elevation changes. Long-range weather forecasts predict wet weather for at least part of the […]
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton used a three-stop strategy to win in Singapore. After three stints on the P Zero Red supersoft, Hamilton completed the race on the P Zero Yellow soft. Hamilton was challenged by Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, running a two-stop strategy from fourth on the grid. Vettel did two opening stints on the supersoft and then a final stint on the soft at the end of the grand prix, when the car was at its lightest on low fuel. His team-mate Daniel Ricciardo followed the same strategy to finish third in front of the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton claimed victory in Monza, using the popular one-stop strategy, the race method predicted as dominant prior to the race by tyre supplier Pirelli. The manufacturer’s home race – it is held half an hour’s drive from the company’s HQ in Milan – saw all of the top 10 finishers using similar tactics to Hamilton, as low wear and degradation of both compounds made the approach almost obligatory.
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