Pirelli’s Mario Isola on the best strategy for the 2017 Mexican GP

Like the United States Grand Prix that has just taken place last weekend, the tyres brought to Mexico will be the P Zero Yellow soft, P Zero Red supersoft and P Zero Purple ultrasoft (which reverts to its usual colour after turning pink in Austin). The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, named after Mexico’s famous racing brothers, is one of the quickest tracks of the year, and – as has been the case on a few occasions already this season – it’s the first time that the ultrasoft has been nominated there. With the race only returning to the calendar two years ago, expect to see more lap records broken this weekend.

Pirelli’s racing manager Mario Isola talks about what we can expect at the at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez next weekend: “In Mexico, we again maintain our principle of bringing softer compounds than last year whenever possible, in the pursuit of increased performance and more exciting races. This is actually the second consecutive year that we are bringing a new tyre to Mexico, as last year the supersoft was nominated there for the first time. Only two races have been run on the current version of the track before, so it’s not one of the venues that the teams are most familiar with. This means that there will be some learning to do with the ultrasoft in particular during free practice.” – Mario Isola said ahead of the 2017 Mexican Grand Prix, as reported by Pirelli’s official website earlier today.

What’s new?
– the ultrasoft tyre comes to Mexico City for the very first time and has proved very popular: many drivers have selected the maximum number of ten sets.
– following the support for Susan G.Komen® foundation in the United States, the charitable focus this weekend will be on the victims of the Mexico City earthquake earlier this year.
– Italy’s Paolo Andreucci recently clinched a remarkable 10th Italian Rally Championship title, using Pirelli tyres on his Peugeot Italia 208 T16.

Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez from a tyre point of view:

– surface is quite smooth and slippery, reducing tyre wear and degradation despite the high speeds (372kph was seen in 2016).
– weather can be a question mark in Mexico City at this time of year: anything is possible.
– as well as the fast corners, there is also a well-known slow and technical stadium section: an interesting mix of old and new.
– most drivers went for one stop last year, including the winner, Lewis Hamilton.
– pit lane is the longest of the year, increasing the stop time and so influencing strategy.

Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez minimum starting pressures (Slicks):

21.0 psi (front) | 19.5 psi (rear)