Pirelli head to the Autódromo José Carlos Pace this weekend for the Brazilian Grand Prix with good knowledge of what lies ahead, the only change from 2017 is that the tyres are one step softer.
While the circuit is the third-shortest of the season, it does mean that the tyres are constantly worked through the non-stop sequences of corners, with the right-rear tyre taking the bulk of the stress on the anti-clockwise layout.
“We’re not expecting anything very different to what we’ve seen during previous years in Brazil: the only change is that we’re bringing a nomination that is one step softer.” said Pirelli Head of Car Racing Mario Isola.
“The current medium and soft are similar to last year’s soft-supersoft tandem that formed the winning race strategy, while this year’s supersoft – the softest tyre we have selected for the weekend – is roughly equivalent to last year’s ultrasoft, which didn’t come to Brazil.
“So, this tyre effectively makes its debut at Interlagos. Dealing with traffic and going offline is always an important aspect to managing the race in Brazil, and due to the high energy loads from the fast corners and possible high temperatures, degradation will be another factor to bear in mind – although we don’t expect it to be excessive under normal circumstances.”
2017 saw Sebastian Vettel take victory in Brazil with a supersoft-soft one-stopper, there were also two-stop strategies throughout the field but Pirelli expect most teams will opt for a one-stop option, the only thing which could disrupt this is the unpredictable weather which ranges from the hottest track temperatures to torrential rain.
