Formula 1 official tyre supplier Pirelli has confirmed that a two-stop strategy should be the best tyre option for teams and drivers in Sunday’s 56-lap United States Grand Prix, as tyre degradation will be high at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), a Grade 1 FIA-specification 5.514-kilometre motor racing track and facilities located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas.
Pirelli have advised teams to only use the Medium tyres and the Hard tyre, pointing out that the soft tyre would not be a good tyre for the United States Grand Prix due to the high degree of wear. The best tyre strategy should be a first stint on the mediums, followed by a stint on the Hards and one final stint on the Mediums for the last part of the race, except for possible Safety Cars that could change the plans based on the moment of the race.
If tyre wear proves higher than expected, there is also the possibility of using a strategy with Medium-Hard-Hard tyres.
Scuderia Ferrari has been struggling with tyre wear in the last few races and as a result could even opt for a a Medium-Hard-Medium strategy for Charles Leclerc, then using the Softs for the final part of the United States Grand Prix. This solution could be considered by drivers from the back of the grid, also because the Circuit of the Americas pitlane is rather short so there would not be a lot of time lost with an extra pit, while the track layout allows for overtaking opportunities.
Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc alongside Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are the only ones to have two sets of new Mediums left, with Charles Leclerc likely to make use of that tyre the most coming from 12th in Austin. Carlos Sainz, in the other F1-75 car, will be starting from pole position at the COTA track, has just one set of Mediums left along with two sets of new Hard tyres, much like the rest of those who reached Q3 on Saturday.
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However, Scuderia Ferrari made sure that Carlos Sainz has a brand new set of Soft tyres, which may come in handy for a super fast final stint in the United States Grand Prix, if the opportunity for a late pit stop appears.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, who starts the Austin race from the pit lane after changing engine parts under Parc Ferme, also has two sets of Soft tyres available along with two new Hards and one set of Medium tyres.
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