Pirelli’s Head of F1 and car racing, Mario Isola praised Lewis Hamilton‘s tyre management at the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix that saw the Brit take victory using a softer compound tyre that his rivals.
The Mercedes-AMG Motorsport team opted to bring Hamilton in on the eleventh lap of the race under the safety car conditions, choosing the Medium C4 compound for both of the silver arrows, whilst both Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen were swapped to the Hard C3 compound.
Further down the order Renault F1 Team’s Daniel Ricciardo and Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen also both opted for the C4 tyre.
One lap later Valtteri Bottas pitted again, changing to the Hard C3 compound after picking up wheel damage, leaving Hamilton and Ricciardo to complete a total of 66 laps on the Medium C4 tyres, Magnussen completed just one lap less after being lapped.
Speaking after the race Isola explained how he was impressed with the race and Hamilton’s abilities in managing his tyres to the end of the race.
“We saw a thrilling grand prix in uncertain weather conditions with a great duel between Hamilton and Verstappen throughout most of it: so close that there was even some contact between them just a few laps from the finish.
“Hamilton very effectively managed a softer tyre compound than his rivals, completing 66 laps on the medium after making his only stop under the safety car, which proved to be a pivotal moment in the race.
“The decision from Ferrari to fit the hard tyre to Vettel ensured their podium, while Hamilton’s ability to look after his tyres led to a victory that Niki Lauda would have been proud of.”
Fastest laps per compound went to Bottas on the Hard C3 with a time of 1:15.163, Alex Albon with a time of 1:15.607 on the Medium C4 tyre, and Pierre Gasly, who secured the overall fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:14.279 on the Soft C5 tyre.
