Mario Isola says Pirelli’s tyres performed pretty much as they were expected to during the Australian Grand Prix, with the majority of the field opting for a one-stop strategy.
Five drivers opted to start on the hard compound but starting on the medium compound and switching to the hard was ultimately the best way to go, with only Alexander Albon making the other strategy work to score a top ten finish.
Albon stayed on the hard compound from the opening lap right until the start of the final lap, where he finally took his mandatory pit stop and stayed ahead of Zhou Guanyu to clinch tenth place and the first point of the season for Williams Racing.
The other drivers who started on the hard compounds made their stops earlier in the race and struggled for performance up until the chequered flag. This included BWT Alpine F1 Team’s Fernando Alonso, who saw his chance of points disappeared as he struggled with his set of mediums, which forced him to pit a second time.
Having started on the medium compound, Charles Leclerc won the race by pitting on lap twenty-two for a second of hard compound tyres, while podium finishers Sergio Pérez and George Russell also pitted once each, on laps twenty and twenty-three respectively, both also going the medium-hard route with their strategies.
Isola, the Motorsport Director at Pirelli Motorsport, was pleased with the way their tyres performed in Australia, and he also praised the new Albert Park track layout and 2022 aero regulations for making it easier to follow other cars at the track compared to in previous years.
“The tyres performed in line with the expectations we had established from Friday’s free practice sessions, despite the much higher temperatures on race day and expected track evolution,” said Isola.
“Nearly all the drivers made just one pit stop, with many of them taking advantage of safety cars to minimise the time loss. The different characteristics of the medium and hard tyres, with deliberately higher degradation on the medium, also presented the drivers with a wide pit stop window.
“This allowed them to maximise strategic opportunities today. The modified track layout here in Melbourne helped to underline how the new car and tyre package for 2022 permits drivers to attack and overtake, with a high number of passing manoeuvres.
“We also saw some ingenious pit strategies, such as two consecutive pit stops from Lance Stroll to cycle through the medium tyre, and a very long hard stint from Alex Albon that enabled him to get from last on the grid into the points.”
Credit: Pirelli Motorsport