The head of the Pirelli racing division, Mario Isola, summed up the results of Friday’s practice in Melbourne. Tire manufacturers are satisfied with the performance of all three compounds C2, C3 and C4, which provide the expected speed difference.
Mario Isol: “As always in Albert Park, the condition of the asphalt changes very quickly, especially at the beginning of the sessions. Today is no exception. Shortly after the start of the second practice session, it started to rain, further complicating the picture – the teams were not given the chance to work on the long series of circles required for a full tire assessment. Therefore, the preparatory work done before Melbourne is of great importance, especially when it comes to strategic options.
From what we can see right now, all three rubber compounds are behaving exactly as we expected, delivering the planned speed differential. All three setups can be used in a race, opening up a wide variety of possible strategy options.
In the first run we saw some soft and medium granulation in muddy conditions and relatively low temperatures. In the second session, the riders got their first glimpse of intermediate tires.
There is one more practice session before qualifying, which will give the drivers the chance to work on a long run of laps, which they haven’t been able to do yet. The weather should also improve – it will be another interesting factor in the remaining days of the Australian Grand Prix weekend.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
