After a chaotic Imola weekend, Pirelli remains uncertain whether the soft C6 compound suits second-half Formula 1 race demands.
Pirelli admits that the use of its C6 tyre at Imola has not yet provided sufficient answers to determine whether it should be used in the second half of the season.
After an unconvincing showing in qualifying, the soft compound was shelved for the race.
It was the medium and hard tyres that were used on Sunday, with the longest recorded stint being 34 laps.
Six drivers managed this distance on the hard compound, but only two—Yuki Tsunoda and Nico Hülkenberg—achieved it on mediums.
Among the finishers, most completed two pit stops. Only Gabriel Bortoleto stopped three times, while Tsunoda and Hülkenberg were the only two to stop just once.
Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Head of Motorsport, reflected on the uniquely shaped race.
“An exciting race full of twists and turns rounded off a very busy weekend, marked for us by the official debut of the new C6 compound,” said Isola, acknowledging that the weekend would require a detailed study.
“It will now be important to thoroughly analyse all the data from these three days, as it should provide useful insights for upcoming races, especially regarding compound allocation for the second half of the season.”
The Italian is pleased to see that Pirelli’s choices triggered unexpected changes in the race’s complexion:
“What we can already say is that the decision to go with three compounds slightly softer than last year has proven to be a sound one.”
“If we look at the first part of the race—the second being affected by neutralisations—we observed that in a scenario where all drivers were managing their pace during the opening stint, it only took one unexpected move—namely Leclerc’s pit stop on lap 10—to trigger strategic shifts.”
“Some chose to extend the first stint as much as possible, clearly opting for a one-stop race, while others realised that the Ferrari driver’s undercut was working very well and were forced to respond. Indeed, with fresh tyres and a clear track, Leclerc made up many places.”
“Of course, what happened in the second part of the race makes it difficult to say for certain how effective such an early stop would have been, or whether it would have forced those who made it into a two-stop strategy. This means that overall, the choice of softer tyres opened the door to more strategic options, both in terms of the number of stops and the length of stints.”
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