Mario Isola was pleased to see a number of different strategies play out during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with all three available compounds – Ultrasoft, Supersoft and Soft – being used by eventual race winner Lewis Hamilton.
Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport ace Hamilton started on the Supersoft but made his pit stop on lap twenty-two to switch to the Soft compound, and then switched to the Ultrasoft on lap forty when the safety car was deployed.
Isola, Pirelli Motorsport’s Head of Car Racing, felt the three compounds made for a good show last Sunday although it was a huge challenge for drivers to maintain their tyre temperatures, and even though the safety car played a big part in the final result, Isola was delighted to see all three compounds extensively used, with Valtteri Bottas running forty laps on the Supersoft tyre before making his pit stop to switch to the Ultrasoft.
“There were a number of different strategy combinations at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and it was interesting to see all three compounds used extensively during the race, with varying strategies for each driver,” said Isola.
“The safety car’s intervention had a strong influence on the race outcome, but Bottas also managed an extremely long stint on the Supersoft tyres before the win went to his team-mate Hamilton, who capitalised on every opportunity and again used all three compounds.
“With the cool conditions, long straight, and yellow flag plus safety car interruptions, maintaining tyre temperature was a challenge, particularly at the re-starts.
“Congratulations also to Formula 2 champion Charles Leclerc, who took his best result by finishing sixth.”
