Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli admitted that a one-stop strategy will be favoured at the German Grand Prix, but at the same time has cautioned that unpredictable weather may change this approach.
Formula 1 drivers struggled in the exceptionally hot weather on Friday but conditions have now cooled, while showers are forecast for Sunday afternoon at Hockenheim.
Pirelli believes that if it stays dry a one-stop strategy will be the quickest approach, running a Medium/Hard tyre combination, with a pit stop coming between laps 24 and 29 of 67.
It anticipates a slightly slower one-stop approach is a Soft/Hard strategy, making a step between laps 18 and 22, while a two-stop is “definitely slower.”
But it added that “if the degradation on Soft is higher than expected, in case the weather is warmer than anticipated, then it is “equally as quick” to do two stints on Softs (of 15-18 laps), and one stint on Mediums. Both Mercedes drivers, and Charles Leclerc, are obligated to start on the Medium compound tyres, while the other drivers inside the top 10 on the grid must start on Softs.
Those starting outside of the top 10 have free choice of tyres for the first stint of the race.
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