American Grand Prix “a fantastic strategic duel” – Pirelli’s Mario Isola

Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing were victorious over Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team at the Circuit of the Americas, in what was an intense strategic battle to the flag.

Verstappen who started on pole won the race with a two-stop strategy, pitting before Hamilton on both occasions. Hamilton had overtaken Verstappen on the opening lap however the Dutchman regained the lead thanks to the powerful undercut. This did give Hamilton healthier tyres at the end of the race though, although the British driver was unable to overtake Verstappen, ending up just a second behind the championship leader.

Mario Isola, Head of F1 and Car Racing at Pirelli, thoroughly enjoyed the strategic battle between two of the greatest Formula One drivers.

“Tyre wear was high as we expected on this hot and abrasive circuit, which led to nearly everyone choosing the medium to start the race on and then focussing on the hard as the main race tyre. This stood up extremely well to the demands on it, with some long stints that helped to set up a thrilling finale to this race between the championship protagonists.

“Both Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton had exactly the same tyre allocation left before the race but used it in very different ways, with Hamilton making the most of his younger tyres at the end, and Verstappen capitalising on the track position gained by his ‘undercuts’. The result was a fantastic strategic duel that led to a thrilling finale between two drivers absolutely on top of their game, managing their tyres perfectly.”