At Monza, qualifying was held for the second time in the season in an updated alternative format: in the first session, riders could only ride the Hard set-up, in the second session only the Medium and in the third session only the Soft . Pirelli’s racing division head, Mario Isola, summed up the session, which saw Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz take pole position.
Mario Isola: “The Italian Grand Prix is always special because of the great atmosphere on the circuit, which is called the ‘Temple of Speed’, and entertainment. Today the fans saw an exciting battle for pole position between the two Ferrari drivers and the great champion Max Verstappen. It was very interesting to see how this trio kept improving their times in the qualifying final.
As far as tires are concerned, we have tested another alternative distribution option over the past two days, but this time under stable weather conditions. Teams and riders have shown that they adapt quickly to the different challenges this format presents, but without reducing activity on the track.
We now need to examine in detail the data collected this weekend to see if this format can be used on a regular basis in the future, perhaps with some adjustments, or if we will keep the default format.
In terms of tomorrow’s race and possible strategies, we consider the one-stop option as the fastest and hard tires as the most important choice. However, if you decide to start on Medium, it offers more flexibility, while starting on Soft allows you to gain more positions in the early circles.
The two-stop strategy is not so optimal because the pit lane is so long that there will be a large loss of time at each stop. But it could be the right choice if at some point the safety car comes out on track.”
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.
