F1 | Isola explains Pirelli's choices for Baku: "It has many differences with Monaco"

Through the "usual" press release presenting the race weekend, Pirelli explained the choice of compounds for the next Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the sixth round of the 2021 MotoGP world championship. As expected, the Italian manufacturer has chosen to bring the softest tires in the range to Baku, therefore favoring performance. An important fact that could vary the strategies quite a bit during the race weekend.

Why Pirelli named these compounds

* For the first time, the three softest compounds in the range were chosen for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix: C3, C4 and C5 were named P Zero White hard, Yellow medium and Red soft respectively. The nomination is one step softer than the last edition held in 2019, and is the same as the last race in Monaco.

* This choice introduces a further element of strategy, given that in 2019 the hard compound was not chosen by anyone for the race. The one step softer tire nomination should allow the hard C3 to play a role over the weekend and therefore broaden the strategic choice.

* The asphalt of the Baku city track is one of the least aggressive of the year in terms of roughness and loads on the tires: also for this reason C3, C4 and C5 are the most suitable compounds.

Baku, the characteristics of the circuit

* In the past Baku has been described by drivers as a track with the typical difficulties of a circuit like Monaco but as fast as Monza. This gives an idea of ​​the nature of the fastest and longest street circuit of the season. Apart from this aspect, Baku has all the characteristics of a street circuit, with a rapidly evolving 'dirty' and slippery asphalt, especially considering that no races have taken place in the last two years. The barriers leave no room for error and are particularly narrow in some places, such as Turn 9.

* For this reason the entry of the safety car is very probable and can therefore influence the race strategy.
In the last edition of 2019, the winning strategy was a soft-medium stop, chosen by the first four at the finish line. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) finished fifth with the opposite strategy: medium-soft, with a second stop at the end of the race to set the fastest lap on the soft. On that occasion, the pit stop window was quite large, with some very long stints on medium C3 (equivalent to this year's hard).

* Baku is nicknamed “the city of winds” due to the unstable and very windy weather. An aspect that affects the aerodynamic balance on an already complex track to find the optimal set-up.

* Due to the long Baku straight, downforce levels are quite low. This factor emphasizes the mechanical grip of the tires on the 20 rather demanding curves of the Azerbaijani track.

Mario Isola, head of F1 and Car Racing at Pirelli

“From a one-of-a-kind track to another equally particular one: Baku has many differences from Monaco, but the precision required to avoid mistakes is the same. For the first time we are bringing to Azerbaijan the three softest compounds from the P Zero range, already seen this year in Monaco. The reason for this choice lies in the fact that in 2019 the hard was not used by anyone for the race strategy, unlike the medium chosen by everyone. With this nomination we hope to see all three compounds play an important role and, consequently, different strategies in the race. In Formula 2 there is a step between the compounds, as already happened in the first round in Bahrain: a choice that creates a clear difference between the available solutions and which should lead to exciting and very tactical races, on a challenging track that he is famous for his unpredictability.”