F1 MATHS: Why did drivers avoid the hard compound in Mexico?

Although Pirelli opted for a bold tyre choice for last Sunday's Mexico City Grand Prix, the majority of the field was eager to avoid the hard compound. F1Technical’s senior writer Balazs Szabo delivers his strategy analysis.

Having produced a perfect lap on Saturday to clinch pole position, Lando Norris converted it into a dominant win the day after. It was the Englishman’s tenth career win, his sixth this season, the first since Hungary and his first in Mexico.

It was McLaren’s 13th win of season, its 202nd overall, and its fourth in Mexico City. Charles Leclerc took his Ferrari from second on the grid to second at the chequered flag, crossing the line 30.324 seconds behind the winner, until the final laps when he had to fend off a charging Max Verstappen.

Although the Dutchman had to settle for third place at the end of a tough weekend for Red Bull, he still managed to keep his championship hopes alive, reducing the gap tot he first place to just 36 points in the standings.

Pirelli came up with a bold tyre choice for the Mexico City Grand Prix, skipping a compound in its three-compound selection. The C5 was chosen as the soft, the C4 as the medium compound with which Pirelli repeated its approach from last year.

However, the hard compound was the C2 rubber, meaning the the C3 was left out in order to spice strategies up for the race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

In fact, the Milan-based tyre supplier achieved its target as the race led to a variety of strategies, albeit the white-walled tyres were avoided by the majority of drivers.

12 drivers lined up on the Soft compound tyre for the start, while six - Max Verstappen, Isack Hadjar, Yuki Tsunoda, Carlos Sainz, Gabriel Bortoleto and Pierre Gasly - went the Medium. Interestingly, Williams driver Alex Albon and Alpine driver Franco Colapinto opted for the Hard which provided drivers with little grip across the pracitce sessions.

As is often the case here with the very long run down to the first corner, the opening lap was chaotic, with the leaders four abreast into the corner. The Stewards had to get involved to work out who had gained an advantage, Lewis Hamilton coming off worst, taking a 10 second penalty at his pit stop.

Despite the choatic start to the 71-lap encounter at Mexico City, it did not have a huge effect on race strategies, with most of the drivers having attempted a one-stop strategy.

Carlos Sainz was the first to make a planned pit stop switching from Medium to Soft, with the Soft-to Medium stops beginning on lap 22 with Antonelli.

A second run of stops began on lap 47, with Piastri, Antonelli and Hamilton. The longest stint of the race came courtesy of Colapinto who completed 48 laps on the C2, while Ocon did 44 laps with the C4 compound and Gasly managed laps 37 on the softest compound.

Commenting on the race, Pirelli's Motorsport Director, Mario Isola said: “We were treated to an interesting race here in Mexico City, not just in terms of the on track action but also because we saw the field split between those on a one stop and others on a two-stop.

„Congratulations to Lando Norris, who was impeccable all weekend, right from the opening day and who is now back in the lead of the championship. Well done also to Ollie Bearman who brought home a valuable fourth place for the Haas team.

“The and Medium Soft compounds both played their part but, if one were to pick a star of the day, it was without a doubt the red banded compound. Most of the drivers chose the softest tyre for the start and for the final stint in the case those of who opted for a two stop strategy.

“Thanks to very little wear and no graining, the drivers were able to extend their C5 stint, effectively managing thermal degradation on the rears.

„The pit stop windows were in line with our expectations and I believe the variety of strategies also owed something to the decision to introduce a gap in compounds selected. the The Hard saw very little use, because it was at a disadvantage on this track that offered little grip all weekend.”