Hards to play ‘limited role’ at F1 United States Grand Prix with one-stop likely

Pirelli has stated that the hard compound tyre will likely play a limited role at the upcoming United States Grand Prix, with the tyre manufacturer predicting a one-stop strategy to be likely.

Feature image credit: By Courtesy of Pirelli

Charles Leclerc set the fastest laps across Friday, going fastest in both FP1 and FP2, at the United States’ Circuit of The Americas, beating Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli in both sessions, respectively.

However, on tyres, Pirelli has suggested that the three tyre compounds had acted consistently, with the teams and drivers primarily running the medium and soft compounds. Additionally, the manufacturer suggests the hard tyre will only have limited usage in tyre strategy.

As such, Pirelli suggest that a one-stop race is a likely scenario this weekend. Pirelli’s Motorsport Director, Dario Marrafuschi said:

“The indications from the first two sessions confirm very consistent behaviour from the three compounds selected for this Grand Prix. So far, the C2 appears likely to play only a limited role in defining race strategies, while teams are focusing primarily on the Medium and Soft compounds.

“Given the level of degradation observed and the rapid evolution of track grip, a one-stop race currently appears to be the most likely scenario.”

Charles Leclerc sweeps Friday US Grand Prix practice with FP2 fastest lap

Pirelli also confirms the gaps in performance remain in line with their expectations, with a nine-tenth gap between the hard and mediums and five-tenths separating the mediums from softs.

Across the day, the drivers had completed 2,564km of running the C4, Soft, tyres, whilst the mediums were ran for 1,819km. With only 20 sets used, the hard tyres were the least ran compound across Friday, at 1,411km.

“Track evolution is progressing as expected. The surface was particularly dirty at the start of running, but it rubbered in quickly, allowing grip levels to reach a very good standard,” Marrafuschi continued.

“The performance gaps between the compounds are also in line with expectations, at around nine tenths of a second between the Medium and Hard, and five tenths between the Medium and Soft.

“Particular attention will also be paid to the aerodynamic balance of the cars, an aspect made even more significant by the bumps and irregularities of the track surface.

“An imbalance can increase the tendency for front-wheel locking under the heaviest braking zones, making it crucial to find the best possible compromise in terms of car set-up.”

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.