RW 21 – Tyre Selection

The Sao Paulo Grand Prix brings the curtain down on Formula 1’s long trip in the Americas, as we head to our final stop on the triple header.

There is a common thread, that links all three of the tracks together, namely new asphalt. However, while in Austin and Mexico City only sections of the tracks had been resurfaced, in Sao Paulo all 4.309 kilometres has been renewed including the pit lane.

Therefore, the track surface will be a completely unknown factor for drivers and teams this weekend. Complicating the puzzle further is the fact Pirelli have chosen to bring a softer trio of compounds than last year, they are: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft).

On top of that it’s a Sprint weekend, so that there is only free practice session for teams to find the best set-up.

At Interlagos, the lateral and longitudinal forces exerted on the tyres around the 15 corners of this anticlockwise track are medium to low intensity and well distributed across both axles.

Usually the fastest strategy is a two-stop, favouring the use of the softer compounds. Last year, all bar one of the drivers chose to start on the Softs, but a red flag after the start allowed for a switch to Mediums.

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