Formula 1 official tyre supplier has outlined that a one-stop strategy is highly likely to be the quickest approach for drivers at Formula 1’s United States Grand Prix.
Pirelli has brought the Ultrasoft, Supersoft and Soft compounds to the Circuit of the Americas.
Hotter temperatures compared to Friday and Saturday are expected for Sunday’s race, but Pirelli expects a sole visit to the pit lane to be achievable for drivers.
It believes an 18-24 lap stint on Supersofts, before a switch to Softs, to be the quickest way of approaching the 56-lap Grand Prix.
A slightly slower strategy is to run a 14-20 lap stint on Ultrasofts before using Softs for the remainder of the race.
It reckons a ‘clearly slower’ strategy is to run longer on Ultrasofts and then switching to Supersofts.
Pole sitter Lewis Hamilton will start on the Supersofts while front-row man Kimi Raikkonen is to use the Ultrasofts for the opening stint.
Valtteri Bottas, Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel will also use the red-banded compound for the start, while the remainder of the top 10 will be on Ultrasofts.
Drivers starting outside of the top 10, including Max Verstappen, have free choice of starting tyre from the three nominated compounds.
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