The Brazilian Grand Prix, held in the intense amphitheatre of the Interlagos circuit – close to the heart of Sao Paulo – marks the final appearance of the season for the P Zero White medium and P Zero Yellow soft tyres, nominated together with P Zero Red supersoft this weekend. It’s well-known as a race where anything can happen, both in terms of weather and on-track action. Brazil is one of the most important single-country markets for Pirelli in the world, with three major factories producing tyres that equip about half the total number of cars on Brazil’s roads.
The Autódromo José Carlos Pace from a tyre point of view:
• On the face of it, the Brazil nomination is the same as last year but in actual fact it’s a step softer – as all the 2018 compounds are one step softer than their 2017 counterparts.
• Brazil is the third-shortest lap of the year (after Monaco and Mexico City) at 4.309 kilometres, meaning that tyres are kept busy with an almost non-stop sequence of corners and plenty of traffic.
• In terms of weather, it’s perhaps the most unpredictable event of the year: previous races have included the hottest track temperatures seen all season, as well as torrential rain.
• The right-rear tyre is the most stressed on the anti-clockwise layout, with tyres subjected to fast corners and combined forces: these high energy loads are the reason for a relatively hard tyre nomination.
• Last year’s winning strategy was a supersoft-soft one-stopper, but a two-stopper was also seen. A one-stopper is what most teams will probably aim for this year.
Pirelli’s racing manager Mario Isola comments on what to expect ahead of the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix in terms of tyre management: “We’re not expecting anything very different to what we’ve seen during previous years in Brazil: the only change is that we’re bringing a nomination that is one step softer. The current medium and soft are similar to last year’s soft-supersoft tandem that formed the winning race strategy, while this year’s supersoft – the softest tyre we have selected for the weekend – is roughly equivalent to last year’s ultrasoft, which didn’t come to Brazil. So, this tyre effectively makes its debut at Interlagos. Dealing with traffic and going off-line is always an important aspect to managing the race in Brazil, and due to the high energy loads from the fast corners and possible high temperatures, degradation will be another factor to bear in mind – although we don’t expect it to be excessive under normal circumstances.” – Mario Isola explained, as reported earlier today by Pirelli’s official website.
What’s new?
• The weekend after the Brazilian Grand Prix, Pirelli’s P Zero GT tyres will be in action at the famous Macau Guia circuit for the FIA GT World Cup, contested by the world’s best GT drivers.
• Brazil’s Enzo Fittipaldi – grandson of double world champion Emerson Fittipaldi – recently won the Italian Formula 4 championship, which runs on Pirelli tyres.
• Colombian driver Tatiana Calderon completed 23 laps of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Pirelli demonstration tyres after the Mexican Grand Prix, succeeding Susie Wolff as the last woman to drive a contemporary F1 car.
Min starting pressures (slicks)
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