F1 Tyre & Stint Analysis
F1 tyre strategy and stint analysis for the 2026 season
The F1 Tyre & Stint Analysis tool above provides a detailed race-by-race view of Formula 1 tyre strategies, stint lengths and clean-lap performance during the 2026 season. Select a Grand Prix and any two drivers to compare how their races were structured, which tyre compounds they used, how long each stint lasted and how their representative pace compared on the same compound.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are selected by default, but the tool is designed for the full Formula 1 grid. This means Ferrari’s strategies can be analysed directly while also allowing comparisons with drivers from Mercedes, McLaren, Red Bull Racing and the other teams.
For more interactive Formula 1 data tools, visit the main ScuderiaFans Formula 1 Statistics section.
How to use the F1 Tyre & Stint Analysis tool
Choose the season, Grand Prix and two drivers from the selectors at the top of the dashboard. The page will then rebuild the comparison using the locally stored race data for that event.
The selected drivers can be swapped instantly, while the comparison-link button creates a URL that preserves the chosen race and drivers. This makes it possible to share a specific tyre and stint comparison without changing the main indexable statistics page.
Each Grand Prix is treated independently because tyre compounds, race conditions, pit-stop requirements, fuel loads and circuit characteristics vary substantially from one event to another.
F1 tyre strategy timeline explained
The tyre strategy timeline provides a visual reconstruction of every stint completed by the selected drivers. Each coloured segment represents one continuous racing stint, with the tyre compound and lap range displayed inside the segment.
A sequence such as S → H → H → S means the driver started on the Soft tyre, changed to Hard tyres, later fitted another set of Hard tyres and completed the race on Softs.
Repeated compounds remain separate when a genuine pit stop took place. For example, a Hard-to-Hard tyre change is displayed as two distinct Hard stints rather than being incorrectly merged into one long run.
Why two consecutive stints can use the same compound
Formula 1 drivers can fit a fresh set of the same tyre compound during a pit stop. A driver may therefore run Hard tyres, stop, and continue on another set of Hard tyres.
The stint reconstruction primarily uses the locally stored pit-in markers to identify where one stint ends and another begins. Tyre-compound changes provide an additional fallback signal, but a change of compound is not required for the tool to recognise a new stint.
This distinction is important when analysing stint length and tyre usage because two separate sets of the same compound should not be treated as one continuous tyre run.
Charles Leclerc vs Lewis Hamilton tyre strategy
With Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton selected, the dashboard provides a direct Ferrari teammate comparison covering pit stops, stint lengths, starting compounds, clean-lap samples, representative pace and same-compound performance.
The tool is not intended to determine automatically which Ferrari driver received the better strategy. Race strategy depends on track position, tyre condition, traffic, Safety Cars, weather, pit-stop timing and many other circumstances.
Instead, the dashboard shows the underlying tyre and stint data so differences between the two Ferrari cars can be identified objectively.
For a broader season-long teammate comparison covering championship points, qualifying, official race results, Race Pace and fastest laps, visit the Charles Leclerc vs Lewis Hamilton F1 head-to-head statistics.
Driver stint overview
The driver stint overview summarises the selected Grand Prix for both drivers. It includes the number of pit stops, average stint length, longest stint, starting compound and the number of eligible clean laps available for pace analysis.
It also displays each driver’s overall clean-lap median, most consistent stint, lowest observed pace trend and same-compound head-to-head score.
These statistics describe different aspects of the race and should not be interpreted as one combined performance rating.
Average stint length
Average stint length measures the average number of laps completed across the reconstructed tyre stints in the selected Grand Prix.
A longer average stint does not necessarily mean stronger tyre management. Strategy, Safety Car timing, the number of pit stops and the compounds available can all significantly change stint length.
The figure is therefore descriptive: it shows how the race was structured rather than judging whether a particular strategy was superior.
Longest stint
The longest-stint statistic identifies the driver’s longest continuous run on one set of tyres during the selected Grand Prix and displays the compound used.
Because pit stops split consecutive tyre sets into separate stints, the figure represents one continuous stint rather than the total number of laps completed on a particular compound throughout the race.
What are eligible clean laps?
Raw Formula 1 lap times cannot always be compared directly. A lap can be affected by a pit stop, Safety Car period, Virtual Safety Car, race interruption or invalid timing data.
The tyre analysis therefore reuses the clean-lap filtering methodology already applied in the F1 Race Pace & Lap Time Comparison.
The main exclusions include:
- Lap 1
- pit-in laps
- pit-out laps
- Safety Car laps
- Virtual Safety Car laps
- race interruptions and red-flag effects
- invalid or deleted laps
- laps without reliable timing data
The remaining laps form the clean sample used for median pace, fastest clean lap, consistency and observed pace-trend calculations.
Overall clean-lap median
The overall clean-lap median represents the middle value of a driver’s eligible racing laps from the selected Grand Prix.
It can provide a useful general reference, but it should be interpreted cautiously because the driver’s strategy may contain several different tyre compounds and race phases.
A driver who spends more laps on one compound or runs a different strategy from a rival can produce a different overall median even if their pace on a directly comparable tyre was similar.
For that reason, the dashboard gives particular emphasis to same-compound comparisons.
Why median pace is used
The median is less sensitive than a simple arithmetic average to unusually slow laps. Even after standard filtering, a clean racing lap can still be affected by traffic, tyre management or another temporary circumstance.
Using the median reduces the influence of isolated outliers and provides a representative centre point for the usable stint sample.
This is the same reason median-based Race Pace is used elsewhere in the ScuderiaFans Formula 1 statistics tools.
Same-compound driver comparison
The same-compound comparison is one of the most useful parts of the tyre analysis because it avoids directly comparing two drivers while they are using different tyre types.
If both selected drivers completed usable laps on the Soft tyre, for example, their Soft clean-lap medians are compared directly. The same process is applied independently to the Medium, Hard, Intermediate or Wet tyres where sufficient data exists.
The dashboard shows each driver’s representative clean-lap median, the size of the clean sample and the total number of stint laps completed on that compound.
Same-compound head-to-head score
The same-compound head-to-head score counts the compounds on which each selected driver recorded the faster clean-lap median during the selected Grand Prix.
If Driver A is faster on the Soft compound while Driver B is faster on the Hard, the score is 1–1. Ties are recorded separately where applicable.
This is a race-specific comparison rather than a season championship. It should also not be interpreted as proof that one driver managed tyres better because fuel load, traffic and race phase can still differ even when the same compound is used.
Same-compound median pace gap
The same-compound pace-gap chart visualises the difference between the two selected drivers for every compound on which both have sufficient clean-lap data.
Positive or negative bars indicate which driver recorded the faster clean-lap median, with the exact gap expressed in seconds per lap.
Only like-for-like tyre compounds are compared. A Soft median is never directly scored against a Hard median.
Why same-compound comparisons are more meaningful
A Soft tyre and a Hard tyre are designed to deliver different combinations of grip, durability and warm-up behaviour. Comparing a driver on Softs with another driver on Hards can therefore say more about strategy than about relative driver pace.
Restricting direct comparisons to the same compound removes one major source of variation, although it does not eliminate every difference between the samples.
Fuel load, traffic, track evolution, tyre age and race management can still affect the lap times, which is why the tool presents these figures as observed race data rather than controlled laboratory comparisons.
Pace evolution within a stint
The pace-evolution chart shows how eligible clean laps develop across comparable same-compound stints.
Rather than displaying raw lap time alone, each lap is plotted relative to that stint’s own median. This allows the shape of the stint to be visualised more clearly despite differences in absolute lap time.
A point above or below the central reference therefore indicates whether that particular lap was slower or faster than the driver’s own median for the selected stint.
How comparable stints are selected
When a driver uses the same compound more than once, the tool does not select an arbitrary stint for the pace-evolution comparison.
For the chosen compound, it searches the available stints from both drivers and selects the pair with the greatest overlap in actual Grand Prix lap numbers.
This makes the comparison better aligned in race phase. A Soft stint near the beginning of the Grand Prix is therefore less likely to be compared with a completely unrelated Soft stint near the end when a more closely overlapping pair exists.
If no same-compound stints overlap directly, the tool falls back to the pair occurring closest together during the race.
Why race-lap overlap matters
Formula 1 cars become lighter as fuel is consumed, while track conditions can also evolve substantially during a Grand Prix. Comparing two stints that take place at similar points in the race can therefore be more informative than comparing stints separated by many dozens of laps.
The overlap-based selection does not make the samples perfectly equal, but it reduces one important source of mismatch.
Stint pace, consistency and observed trend
The detailed stint table breaks every selected driver’s race into its reconstructed tyre stints and provides several separate metrics for each one.
These include:
- tyre compound
- lap range
- stint length
- number of clean laps
- median clean pace
- fastest clean lap
- pace consistency
- observed pace trend where a sufficient sample exists
This makes it possible to examine individual parts of a driver’s race rather than relying only on an overall Grand Prix pace number.
What does stint consistency mean?
Stint consistency is based on the standard deviation of eligible clean lap times within that stint.
A lower number means the driver’s clean laps were grouped more closely together, while a higher number indicates greater variation.
Consistency does not necessarily mean speed. A slower but very stable stint can have a lower standard deviation than a faster stint containing greater lap-to-lap variation.
Fastest clean lap versus median stint pace
The fastest clean lap identifies the quickest eligible lap recorded during a stint, while median pace describes the centre of the full clean-lap sample.
The two statistics answer different questions. The fastest clean lap reflects peak pace, whereas the median provides a more representative view of the stint as a whole.
A driver can therefore produce the fastest individual lap without recording the strongest median pace across the stint.
What is observed pace trend?
The observed pace trend measures the direction of clean lap times within a sufficiently large stint sample.
A simple linear trend is calculated against lap progression. The result is expressed in seconds per lap, such as +0.040s/lap or −0.015s/lap.
A positive number means the eligible lap times tended to become slower over the analysed sample. A negative number means they tended to become faster.
Observed pace trend is not tyre degradation
The dashboard deliberately does not describe the observed pace trend as a true tyre degradation rate.
Formula 1 lap times are influenced by several factors in addition to tyre condition, including:
- fuel burn
- traffic
- driver management
- track evolution
- weather and temperature
- changing race circumstances
- energy management
A proper tyre degradation model would need to account for these variables. The current statistic therefore reports only the observed within-stint trend in the filtered race data.
Why the first post-stop clean lap can be excluded from the trend
Tyres may require a warm-up phase immediately after a pit stop, particularly when leaving the pits on a fresh set.
Where enough suitable data remains, the trend calculation can exclude the first clean lap of a post-stop stint to reduce the influence of this initial warm-up effect.
This exclusion applies to the observed trend analysis rather than rewriting the underlying stint itself.
Full-field F1 tyre strategies
The full-field tyre strategy table shows the reconstructed race strategy for every driver available in the selected Grand Prix dataset.
For each driver it includes the team, starting compound, tyre sequence, number of stints and number of recorded stops. Ferrari rows are highlighted for easier identification.
This allows the Leclerc and Hamilton strategies to be viewed in the context of the entire field rather than in isolation.
How to read an F1 tyre strategy sequence
The strategy column uses abbreviated compound names:
- S – Soft
- M – Medium
- H – Hard
- I – Intermediate
- W – Wet
A sequence such as M → H → S means the driver started on Medium tyres, changed to Hard tyres and later switched to Softs.
A repeated compound, such as M → H → H, means a fresh set of the same compound was fitted during a pit stop.
What does Unknown tyre compound mean?
In some race datasets, a portion of laps may not contain a sufficiently reliable tyre-compound label.
When this happens, the tool displays the compound as Unknown or uses a question mark in the strategy sequence rather than guessing which tyre was fitted.
No compound is inferred when the underlying data does not support a reliable identification. This avoids introducing false tyre information into the analysis.
F1 tyre compound usage
The compound-usage section shows the share of reconstructed racing stint laps completed on each tyre type during the selected Grand Prix.
Two values are shown:
Full field: tyre usage across all available drivers.
Ferrari: tyre usage from Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
This allows Ferrari’s strategy profile to be compared with the overall race without implying that the most frequently used compound was necessarily the fastest or strategically optimal tyre.
Why tyre usage can differ between Ferrari and the field
A team’s compound distribution can differ from the rest of the grid because of starting tyre choice, pit-stop timing, tyre allocation, track position or strategic objectives.
For example, Ferrari might complete a larger proportion of the race on Hard tyres while other teams spend more laps on Mediums. That difference describes strategy usage, not automatically stronger or weaker tyre performance.
Starting compounds
The starting-compound section counts how many drivers began the selected Grand Prix on each tyre compound and identifies the most common choice.
Starting tyre selection can significantly influence the opening phase of a race. Softer compounds can offer greater initial grip, while harder compounds may allow a longer first stint, but the preferred strategy varies by circuit and race conditions.
The tool reports the choices made rather than judging which starting compound was theoretically optimal.
Longest F1 stints by tyre compound
The longest-stints table identifies the longest reconstructed continuous stint on each compound during the selected Grand Prix.
For every available compound, it shows the driver, team, stint length and lap range.
This can reveal how far teams were willing or able to extend a particular tyre, but it should not be interpreted as a direct measure of tyre life. A long stint can be influenced by Safety Cars, pace management, circuit characteristics and strategic necessity.
Ferrari race-by-race tyre strategies
The Ferrari season table summarises Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton’s tyre strategies across every imported 2026 Grand Prix.
For each event it displays both Ferrari strategy sequences, the number of pit stops, the longest Ferrari stint and the most-used Ferrari compound.
This provides a compact season-wide reference and makes it easy to identify races where Ferrari used a markedly different strategy from previous weekends.
For more detailed Ferrari pit-stop timing, Safety Car context and constructor pit-lane rankings, visit the Ferrari Pit Stop & Strategy Statistics.
Why tyre strategy cannot be judged from stint length alone
A longer stint is not automatically better, and a shorter stint is not automatically more aggressive or less efficient.
The optimal strategy depends on factors including:
- expected tyre degradation
- pit-lane time loss
- traffic after the stop
- overtaking difficulty
- Safety Car probability
- weather
- available tyre sets
- track temperature
- race position
- competitor strategy
The dashboard therefore focuses on observable tyre usage and filtered lap performance rather than automatically labelling a strategy as correct or incorrect.
Why tyre strategy and Race Pace are different
Race Pace attempts to describe representative performance across suitable racing laps, while tyre strategy analysis divides the race into individual stints and compounds.
A driver can have stronger overall Race Pace while being slower on one specific tyre compound, particularly if the two drivers followed different strategies.
Using both tools together can therefore provide a more complete picture of Grand Prix performance.
Tyre analysis and Ferrari qualifying performance
Starting position can strongly influence tyre strategy. A driver starting near the front may prioritise track position, while a driver further back may have greater freedom to attempt an alternative compound sequence.
Ferrari’s qualifying position, official starting grid and race conversion can be analysed separately in the Ferrari Qualifying & Race Performance Statistics.
Ferrari tyre strategy versus F1 rivals
Tyre strategy is only one element of constructor performance. Ferrari may use a different stint structure from Mercedes, McLaren or Red Bull Racing while also showing different qualifying strength, representative Race Pace or championship results.
For team-level comparisons covering points, qualifying, results and Team Race Pace, use the Ferrari vs F1 Rivals team head-to-head statistics.
How the F1 tyre and stint data is calculated
The dashboard uses the race datasets already imported and stored locally by ScuderiaFans.
Stint construction: locally stored pit-in markers are used to split the race into separate stints, with tyre-compound changes providing an additional fallback signal.
Tyre compounds: compound labels come from the locally stored race data. If a reliable compound is unavailable, the tool displays Unknown rather than inferring a tyre.
Clean pace: the same core exclusions used by the Race Comparison tool are applied before median pace and consistency statistics are calculated.
Same-compound pace: selected drivers are compared only when both have usable clean laps on the same compound in the same Grand Prix.
Pace evolution: same-compound stints are paired according to the largest overlap in actual Grand Prix lap numbers, helping align the comparison in race phase.
Observed pace trend: a simple within-stint linear trend is calculated when a sufficiently large clean-lap sample exists. It is not presented as fuel-corrected tyre degradation.
Why the tyre analysis uses locally processed data
The raw race datasets are processed and stored locally by ScuderiaFans. Public visitors viewing the tool do not trigger external timing-data requests.
This approach allows the dashboard to serve interactive comparisons quickly while preserving a consistent methodology across the different Formula 1 statistics tools.
Limitations of F1 tyre and stint analysis
Tyre and stint statistics provide valuable information, but they cannot reproduce every variable available to Formula 1 teams.
The public data does not provide a complete picture of tyre temperatures, tyre pressures, driver lift-and-coast targets, energy-management instructions, detailed fuel levels or the team’s internal degradation models.
As a result, the dashboard should be used to analyse observable race behaviour rather than to claim access to the complete strategic picture available on the pit wall.
Explore more Formula 1 statistics
The F1 Tyre & Stint Analysis is part of the growing ScuderiaFans Formula 1 Statistics database.
Use the F1 Race Pace & Lap Time Comparison for direct driver Race Pace, fastest-lap and lap-by-lap analysis.
Ferrari fans can also compare Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton throughout the season with the Ferrari teammate head-to-head dashboard, examine Ferrari against other constructors with the Ferrari vs F1 Rivals comparison, and study pit stops using the Ferrari Pit Stop & Strategy Statistics.
Frequently asked questions
What does the F1 Tyre & Stint Analysis tool show?
It shows tyre strategies, stint lengths, clean-lap pace, stint consistency, same-compound comparisons, observed pace trends, full-field strategy information and Ferrari’s race-by-race tyre usage.
Can I compare any two F1 drivers?
Yes. Select a Grand Prix and choose any two drivers available in the locally imported race dataset. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are the default comparison when both are present.
What is an F1 tyre stint?
A stint is a continuous section of the race completed on one physical set of tyres between the start, pit stops or the end of the driver’s race.
Can two consecutive stints use the same tyre compound?
Yes. A driver can pit and fit a fresh set of the same compound. The tool keeps those runs separate when the underlying pit-stop information identifies a new stint.
What does S → H → H → S mean?
It means the driver used Soft tyres, changed to a set of Hard tyres, later fitted another set of Hard tyres and finally switched back to Softs.
How is median stint pace calculated?
The median is calculated from the eligible clean lap times within that stint after the standard race-pace exclusions have been applied.
Why use median rather than average lap time?
The median is less affected by isolated unusually slow or fast laps and therefore provides a more robust representation of the centre of the clean-lap sample.
What laps are excluded from the pace analysis?
The standard exclusions include Lap 1, pit-in and pit-out laps, Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car periods, race interruptions, invalid timing and deleted or missing laps.
What is same-compound pace?
Same-compound pace compares two drivers only when both used the same tyre type during the selected Grand Prix and have sufficient clean-lap data on that compound.
Why not compare a Soft stint directly with a Hard stint?
The compounds have different performance characteristics. Comparing like-for-like compounds reduces one major source of variation between the drivers.
What does the same-compound H2H score mean?
It counts how many comparable tyre compounds each selected driver won based on the faster clean-lap median in that Grand Prix.
What does pace evolution within a stint show?
It plots eligible clean laps relative to each stint’s own median so the shape and variation of the selected same-compound stints can be examined.
How does the tool choose which two stints to compare?
When both drivers used the same compound more than once, the tool selects the pair with the greatest overlap in actual Grand Prix lap numbers. If no stints overlap, it uses the pair closest together in race phase.
What is stint consistency?
Stint consistency is the standard deviation of eligible clean lap times. Lower values mean the lap times were grouped more closely together.
Does better consistency mean the driver was faster?
No. Consistency and speed are separate characteristics. A slower stint can still be more consistent than a faster but more variable stint.
What is observed pace trend?
Observed pace trend is a simple linear trend of eligible lap times through a sufficiently long stint, expressed in seconds per lap.
Is observed pace trend the same as tyre degradation?
No. It is not fuel-corrected and can still be influenced by traffic, fuel burn, tyre management and track evolution. The tool therefore deliberately avoids describing it as a true tyre degradation rate.
Why might the first lap after a pit stop be excluded from the observed trend?
A new set of tyres can require a warm-up phase. Where the clean sample is large enough, excluding the first post-stop clean lap can reduce the effect of this initial warm-up on the trend calculation.
What does Unknown tyre compound mean?
It means the underlying race data did not contain a sufficiently reliable tyre-compound label for those laps. The tool does not guess the missing compound.
What does the full-field tyre strategy table show?
It lists every available driver in the selected Grand Prix with their team, starting compound, reconstructed strategy sequence, number of stints and number of stops.
What does tyre compound usage measure?
It shows the proportion of reconstructed racing stint laps completed on each compound, separately for the full field and Ferrari.
Does the longest stint show which driver managed tyres best?
No. Stint length can be influenced by strategy, Safety Cars, traffic, circuit characteristics and race position, so it should not be treated as a standalone tyre-management ranking.
Does the tool tell me which F1 tyre strategy was best?
No. It reports and compares the observed strategies and lap data without automatically declaring one strategy optimal.
Does the tool predict tyre life?
No. The current version does not predict remaining tyre life, optimal pit windows or future tyre degradation.
How often is the tyre and stint data updated?
The tool is updated as new 2026 Grand Prix race datasets are imported into the ScuderiaFans Formula 1 statistics database and the local tyre-and-stint summary is rebuilt.
