F1 | Belgian GP, ​​Pirelli confirms the possibility of a single stop strategy

Satisfaction at Pirelli for the data collected by the teams in the first two free practice sessions valid for the Belgian Grand Prix, the thirteenth round of this 2019 Formula 1 world championship. Despite the heat on the Spa track, in fact, the compounds of the Italian company have showed a good performance, especially over the long distance, an aspect that suggests a possible single-stop strategy in Sunday's race.

FRIDAY CURISOITIES
* Track conditions were good today, with the performance of the three nominated compounds in line with expectations. As often happens in Belgium, the asphalt temperatures increased significantly in the afternoon, reaching 40°.
* Just like in 2018, when it dominated all sessions except Q3, Ferrari was fastest in free practice, with Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc ahead of everyone in FP1 and FP2 respectively.
* The gap between C2 medium and C3 soft – the two compounds that will be used mainly in the race – is around one second per lap. The estimated gap between medium and hard is around 1,5 seconds per lap, but the harder compound wasn't used much today so the data collected isn't very representative.
* The track is usually quite rubbery thanks to the 24 Hours of Spa, scheduled for July. The last edition was held under the downpour, which also led to a long interruption. Consequently the track was not particularly rubberized.
There were no episodes of blistering or graining today, on one of the most abrasive circuits of the year.

“As we expected from this first day, the asphalt temperature increased significantly in FP2 compared to this morning, while in FP1 there was a significant evolution of the track. However, the conditions of the track are good and this has allowed us to collect a lot of representative data", said Mario Isola. “In FP2 we saw long run simulations on soft and medium. The weather forecast indicates lower temperatures for Sunday, so the teams concentrated above all on these two compounds, although the use of the hard tire in the race is not excluded."

“As this is a very demanding circuit for the tyres, the Teams will carefully analyze the degradation levels in view of the strategy, especially on the soft. It will therefore be very important to work on balancing the car on this compound, in order to use it best in the race." he concluded.