F1MATHS: Key facts about Pirelli's tyre choice for this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix
With the F1 field having returned to action after its well-deserved summer break, F1Technical’s senior writer Balazs Szabo delivers some key facts regarding Pirelli’s bold tyre choice for this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.
The compounds - For the race in the Netherlands, Pirelli has gone a step softer in terms of compounds than last year. The teams will have a choice of the C2 as Hard, the C3 as Medium and the C4 as Soft, whereas in 2024 the available compounds were C1, C2 and C3.
But wait, what’s the reason for the softer tyre selection? The Milan-based tyre supplier has the aim of increasing the likelihood of a strategy based on two stops, rather than just the one-stop, which has been the predominant choice since this race returned to the calendar in 2022.
Higher pit lane speed limit - The FIA has elected to increase the pit lane speed limit from 60 to 80 km/h, thus reducing the time taken for a pit stop which should provide drivers with further motivation to ponder about a two-stop strategy.
Pirelli has revealed that the one-stop is still quickest - according to simulations provided by the teams -, partly because overtaking is notoriously difficult at Zandvoort, with very few straights apart from the main one, combined with the fact the whole track is quite narrow.
Previous data - As for last year, 16 drivers lined up on the grid on the Medium tyre, while three - Lewis Hamilton, Yuki Tsunoda and Valtteri Bottas - went for the Soft, with Kevin Magnussen starting from the pit lane on Hards.
Three quarters of the field made just one stop during the race, taking on the Hard as the second set, while Magnussen went with the Medium. The Mercedes pair pitted twice – Hamilton used two sets of C3 and George Russell one – while the remaining three, Tsunoda, Bottas and Zhou, ran all three available compounds, with Alex Albon choosing to run Medium, Hard, Medium.
Stint length - Pirelli’s choice to bring softer tyres for this year’s Zandvoort race is not surprising considering the stint length at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix.
Hulkenberg drove the longest stint of all, completing 57 laps on the Hard. Piastri topped the list with the Medium on 33 laps, while Hamilton ran 24 on the Soft.
