Pirelli has warned Formula 1 teams that tyre degradation at the Austrian Grand Prix could closely resemble the conditions seen in Barcelona, potentially making strategy one of the decisive factors in Sunday’s race.
The conditions experienced during Friday’s practice sessions at the Red Bull Ring confirmed Pirelli’s pre-weekend expectations. With track temperatures ranging between 52 and 53 degrees Celsius, thermal degradation emerged as one of the dominant themes of the day and could significantly influence the outcome of the Austrian Grand Prix.
“We are in a situation that is very similar to Barcelona,” explained Simone Berra, Pirelli’s Chief Engineer. “The asphalt has characteristics that are very similar in terms of roughness to what we saw in Spain. As a result, the tyre’s intrinsic grip becomes the dominant factor, generating very high temperatures both in the carcass and on the tyre surface. For this reason, thermal management during the race will be the key factor throughout the weekend.”
Pirelli: “Protecting the rear tyres will be the priority”
According to the data collected by Pirelli, degradation on both the Hard and Medium compounds was particularly high throughout Friday’s running.
“We recorded degradation levels of around two tenths of a second per lap, especially on the rear axle. That is a significant figure. During the race it will probably decrease slightly because drivers will manage their pace more carefully, but it is still expected to remain relatively high.”
The rear tyres are expected to be the most critical element around the Red Bull Ring: “This circuit places very high demands on traction, so it will primarily be the rear tyres that need to be protected. The teams will certainly work overnight to find ways of reducing thermal degradation on the rear axle.”
Despite the extremely high temperatures, the Soft compound could still play a more important role than initially anticipated: “Based on the data we have collected so far, the C5 is not that far away from the other compounds. It is slightly more difficult to control, but it is absolutely usable during the race. If you choose the C5, you can gain an advantage during the opening laps of the stint before focusing on managing the degradation. At the moment, it is certainly still in contention.”
Pirelli: “We cannot rule out seeing all three compounds used in the race”
For that reason, Pirelli believes there is a realistic possibility that all three tyre compounds could be used during Sunday’s Grand Prix, just as was the case in Barcelona.
“We could find ourselves in a very similar situation, with all three compounds being used during the race.”
Even so, the most likely scenario remains a two-stop strategy, although Simone Berra did not completely dismiss more aggressive alternatives: “On paper, a three-stop strategy is also possible. However, traffic management is likely to play a much bigger role here than it did in Barcelona, and that could make such an approach less effective.”
Simone Berra also offered an interesting assessment of the tyre choices made by the leading teams. Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull are the only four teams to have kept both of their available sets of Hard tyres for the remainder of the weekend, a decision that even surprised the Pirelli engineer.
“I wasn’t expecting that because the C3 and C4 compounds showed very similar behaviour. The C4 offers a little more grip, but the overall degradation level is broadly comparable. That is why I expected the teams to place greater emphasis on the Medium compound.”
According to the Italian engineer, the leading teams’ decision was motivated by a desire to keep as many strategic options open as possible ahead of Sunday’s race, allowing them to react to changing circumstances and potential Safety Car periods.
One of the most encouraging findings from Friday was the complete absence of both graining and blistering: “We did not observe any graining, only some very light surface abrasion,” explained Berra. “In the past, this circuit was one of the most demanding when it came to blistering. However, with the current 18-inch tyres we are not seeing any signs of that, despite the high temperatures and the significant traction demands. That is certainly a very positive aspect.”
The absence of blistering provides teams with greater strategic flexibility heading into the race, even though managing thermal degradation will remain one of the biggest challenges throughout the Austrian Grand Prix.
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