Pirelli race preview | 2021 Monaco GP. Pirelli comment on what to expect ahead of the 2021 Monaco GP.

WHY PIRELLi HAVE CHOSEN THE TYRES

• The softest Pirelli compound in the range (called the ‘C5’, which stands for ‘compound 5’) makes its grand prix debut in 2021. With the softest line-up in the range nominated for the first time this year, the P Zero White hard tyre in Monaco will be the C3, the P Zero Yellow medium will be the C4, and the P Zero Red will be the C5.
• Monaco is not only the shortest lap of the year with the lowest average speed, but it also has the slowest corner of the year. To cope with this, the teams use a high-downforce package with a specific front and rear wing to balance downforce levels. There are also bespoke aerodynamic appendages, as well as adjustments to the steering to provide the extra lock needed to get round the Fairmont Hairpin.
• One corner comes quickly after another at Monaco, making it relatively easy to warm up the tyre, especially the softer compounds, and put it into its ideal operating window.

TRACK CHARACTERISTICS

• Being a street circuit, the track tends to be extremely green and slippery at the start of the weekend, with rapid evolution. As the race weekend takes an unusual format, with no Formula 1 running on Friday and the track open to normal traffic in the evenings (plus most of Friday), the surface can often ‘reset’ itself before Saturday. Monaco has one of the lowest levels of macro roughness of the season.
• Because of the low energy loads going through the tyres, Monaco is traditionally a one-stop race, and there is quite a wide pit stop window during which the stop can be taken.
• In 2019, when the race was last run, Lewis Hamilton won with a soft to medium strategy after making an early stop under the safety car on lap 11, then managing this compound brilliantly to the end. The other podium finishers also stopped under the safety car but went to hard tyres.

FORMULA 2: WHAT TO EXPECT

Monaco is round two of the Formula 2 season and will feature the same new-for-2021 format that made its debut in Bahrain in March, with three races to be run across the weekend. As is the case in Formula 1, Pirelli brings the softest tyres in its F2 range to Monaco: the P Zero Red soft and P Zero Purple supersoft tyres. This is the same selection that was made for the championship’s last visit to Monaco in 2019, but now in the 18-inch size that was introduced to Formula 2 from last season.

MARIO ISOLA – HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING

“Monaco is unique, but its absence from the calendar since 2019 only emphasises its specific characteristics and makes us even more pleased to be going back there. Mechanical grip is key to success as is qualifying and strategy, with the renowned difficulty in overtaking. This puts the accent firmly on track position, with the drivers having to extract the very maximum from the softest C5 tyre in qualifying. Strategy tends to be reactive, with teams making their stops at the moment that gives them the maximum advantage on track, thanks also to a wide pit stop window resulting from the very low tyre wear and degradation.”