Zandvoort, Pirelli strategies: doubts about the number of pit stops, it will be an open race

By Carlo Platella
The Dutch track is notoriously difficult for overtaking, but this does not mean that the Zandvoort race will be monotonous. The crazy Nordic weather has affected the teams’ preparation, with only the Friday afternoon session held on dry ground to collect data on tyre degradation. The storm that hit at the end of qualifying washed the track again, which will therefore face a rapid evolution in the racemaking it difficult to predict tire performance and the most suitable strategies. Mario IslandPirelli’s motorsport manager, explains to FormulaPassion the painting a few hours before departure.

Soft on the way

“The one- or two-stop strategies they are very close”, explains Isola. “We think that the teams are trying to avoid the double pit stop given the overtaking difficulties that exist in Zandvoort.” Pirelli’s simulations suggest the fastest strategy is to start on the soft tyre, then switch to the hard after an initial stint of 24-30 laps. Traditionally, teams use the softer compound for the final stages of the race, when the more rubberized track and lighter fuel tank help to limit degradation, but at Zandvoort other factors prevail.

“In our opinion, whoever starts in front will do so with the soft tyre to maintain their position”, comments Pirelli’s motorsport manager. “If you start with a medium or hard compound, which is lower in performance at the beginning, you risk losing positions. From a technical point of view, the soft tyre is not ideal at the start, because the car is weighed down by the fuel and it is a compound that degrades, which is why it would be better to put it at the end. However, when you start with the whole group close together at the beginning, you risk losing important positions and if you find yourself in traffic later, you lose even more time. These are the reasons why we believe that the soft tyre can be the preferred mix for the start”.

Recovery plans

The alternative for the single-stop strategy involves a longer initial stint on the soft tyre, around 28-33 laps, before switching to the medium rather than the hard compound. The option becomes even more plausible for those, like McLaren, Williams and Racing Bullshas kept two sets of medium tyres. For those starting from the back or in the middle of the group, like Hamilton or Sainz, the start on hard tyres is the norm, so as to stretch out and travel in free air and then fit the soft, which is considerably more performing than the medium.

Mario Isola continues: “If you start from the bottom you could also try starting on the hard and then depending on where you arrive evaluate whether to fit a medium or a soft, much more likely the latter considering how well it worked. Not only that, but the soft had no graining. It is clear that it has more degradation, but in some ways it can be controlled. The performance advantage of the soft is important: there are 8-9 tenths of a second per lap on the medium, which is quite close to the hard”.

Two-stop hypothesis

Pirelli, however, does not rule out a double pit-stop strategy, either in the soft-medium-soft or soft-hard-soft combination. “In general we think they can use two sets of soft tyres”adds Isola. “The teams have quite a few softs. Almost all the teams have kept just one set of hards and one set of mediums, with the remaining tyres all softs. The only one who kept two sets of hard tyres is Verstappen”. Pirelli expects the rear axle to be the limiting axle for pace, as it is more prone to overheating. The tyres also showed no issues getting up to temperature, a finding that will encourage teams to try undercutting to surprise their rivals.

The key to the race will be interpret rubber performance and degradation in real timeadapting strategies to the probable rapid evolution of the track. Mario Isola concludes: “When we arrived here and measured the roughness of the asphalt, the feedback from our engineers was that the track was quite rubberized. Due to the weather conditions, it wasn’t so rubberized in FP2 after the rain on Friday morning. After the rain yesterday, today the track is quite green, which is why I expect a decent evolution during the race.”