RW 7 – Tyre Selection

Formula 1 returns to Europe after eight months on from the previous Grand Prix to be held on the old continent and in the same country, Italy.

This weekend’s race is only the fourth edition of the Gran Premio Del Made in Italy E dell’Emilia Romagna, previously held from 2020 to 2022 as last year’s event had to be cancelled because of floods that hit large parts of the region.

For the seventh round of the season, Pirelli has decided to go with the softest trio of tyre compounds: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft).
It will be the first time this trio will be put to the test at the Emilian track, although it was to have been the choice for last year’s cancelled event.

Imola is one of the oldest fixtures on the championship calendar, known for being a technical track which highlights the skills of the drivers who have to tackle quite complex combinations of corners and braking zones.

The track is not particularly hard in terms of the forces exerted on the tyres, even if the asphalt is still relatively abrasive, despite the fact that the last time resurfacing work was carried out on 70% of its almost five kilometre length dates back to 2011.

With 19 corners and a significant 30 metre elevation change from the highest point to the lowest, the track is rather narrow and there is only one DRS zone, making overtaking far from easy.

On paper, having the three softest compounds could produce more options in terms of pit stop strategy in a race that usually would require just on tyre change, especially as time lost in the pit lane is one of the highest of the year.
There is also the strong possibility of the race being neutralised at some point, something that has happened in over 70% of races run at Imola to date.