Formula 1 | Isola on the Dutch GP: “Degradation in line with expectations”

Max Verstappen on Red Bull won his home Grand Prix with two stops and making perfect use of all three compounds: he started with P Zero Red soft C3, before switching to P Zero Yellow medium C2 and finishing with P Zero White hard C1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), who finished second, opted for a different strategy: he started on the soft and then did two stints on the medium. He added a third unscheduled stop right at the end of the race by using soft tires to score the point for the fastest lap of the race.

The top five finishers arrived in the order they started on the grid. However, five different strategies were chosen by the top six finishers, demonstrating the different tactical approaches that many teams took to the race. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) was the only driver to start on the hard compound from the pit lane. He went from hard to medium to soft, finished eighth and was voted driver of the day.

There was a mix of one and two stops throughout the race, with seven drivers stopping twice and the rest only stopping once. Hamilton was the only driver to make three stops. Today was a little warmer than previous days, with track temperatures reaching a peak of 32 degrees.

How the tires performed

HARD C1: They played a key role in Verstappen's victory and most of the drivers used the white tire for the final stint. Some completed more than 40 laps on this compound, Nicholas Latifi (Williams) did as many as 47.

MEDIUM C2: Lando Norris (McLaren) completed a long 42-lap opening stint on this compound and the top three all used the medium for the middle stints. Hamilton came close to setting the fastest lap on a set of used mediums, before switching to softs at the very end to secure the extra point.

SOFT C3: Most of the drivers started the race on this compound and both Mercedes cars also switched to the red tire towards the end to secure the fastest laps of the race. Although the degradation was in line with expectations, the level of wear was higher than expected.

Mario Isola, head of F1 and Car Racing at Pirelli

“All three compounds we nominated for the race played a leading role as evidenced by the wide variety of strategies adopted today on this brand new and exciting circuit where the drivers pushed hard until the end.

Today's warmer temperatures compared to previous days put the tires to the test even more so the decision to come here with the three hardest compounds in the range was certainly correct. Wear was higher than we had been able to calculate due to the lack of long runs before the race, while degradation was in line with expectations.

Before the one made with soft after the last pit stop, the medium tires used allowed Hamilton to set the fastest lap of the race. Congratulations to Max Verstappen and Red Bull for this great victory on home soil."