Pirelli, the tire supplier in Formula 1, predicts that the drivers will try to make it through the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix today with one pit stop. But the head of the company's motorsport division, Mario Isola, believes that we may see two stops for tires, reports sportal.bg.
“Given the tires saved by the drivers, we can see two different approaches to the race – explained Isola. – McLaren is the only team that has two sets of new hard slicks, while most other teams, including Red Bull, have two new sets of medium-hard slicks. This suggests that the teams are keeping the door open to a two-pit strategy, but McLaren has chosen the most conservative approach.“
According to Isola, the fastest strategy is considered to be the one-pit strategy, which involves starting with the medium-hard tires and changing to the hard ones between laps 20 and 26. It is also possible to start with the hard ones and between laps 39 and 45 they are changed to the medium-hard ones.
“The two-pit strategy is not that fast, and it should be borne in mind that overtaking at “Yas Marina“ is difficult. An option is the first series of laps with medium-hard tires, then hard ones and after the second pit - medium-hard again. Here, in theory, this strategy is faster in the last part of the race“, also considered Isola.
The race in Abu Dhabi is today at 3 pm, and in this race the new world champion among drivers will be determined.