Mexican GP: Pirelli Friday Practice Review
By Courtesy of Pirelli
October 26 2019
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Pirelli
Mexican GP Friday Practice Review |
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WHAT WE LEARNED FROM FP1 AND
FP2
* Although conditions were cool and slippery all day following some
overnight rain (with track temperatures never exceeding 39 degrees
centigrade) Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel’s fastest FP2 lap on the soft C4
compound was slightly quicker than last year’s equivalent. This was despite
a tyre selection that was harder than last year (when hypersoft was the
softest nominated tyre).
* The overnight rain meant that many drivers started FP1 on the intermediate
tyre, in even cooler conditions. This was also to take advantage of the
regulations, which allow an extra set of tyres if Friday practice is
declared wet and a set of intermediates is used. The cold and slippery track
meant that there was a bit of graining in the morning, which was reduced
during the afternoon with more rubber on the track.
* Both sessions were interrupted by quite lengthy red flag periods, which
meant that teams couldn’t quite get the full three hours of free practice
allocated for Friday.
* Similar weather conditions are expected tomorrow, with some possible
overnight rain in store, which could wash away the rubber laid down today.
* As expected, the high altitude in Mexico affected grip as well, as in the
thin air the cars generate less downforce.
* Up to now, the performance difference between the medium and the soft is
around 0.9 seconds, with 0.6 seconds between medium and hard (but the data
for the medium-hard comparison is less representative).
MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF CAR RACING
“The gaps seem to be reasonably close between the top cars on the same tyre,
accentuated by the relatively short lap length and the fact that the running
has been interrupted today. This meant that nobody really had the chance to
find any particular advantage. With more rain possibly expected tonight, the
grip might not significantly improve tomorrow. The graining we saw this
morning was no real surprise given the cool and damp conditions combined
with the lack of aerodynamic grip, which meant that the cars were sliding
more than usual. Despite this, the actual lap times were comparable to last
year – and with a harder tyre selection. There’s clearly some degradation on
the soft at the moment in particular, but a lot will depend on the eventual
weather conditions for race day. Plenty for the teams and drivers to think
about overnight, as starting the race on the medium tyre could be a valid
strategy this weekend.” |
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FREE PRACTICE 1 – TOP 3 TIMES
DRIVER TIME C OMPOUND
Hamilton 1m17.327s SOFT C4 USED
Leclerc 1m17.446s MEDIUM C3 USED
Verstappen 1m17.461s SOFT C4 USED
FREE PRACTICE 2 – TOP 3 TIMES
DRIVER TIME COMPOUND
Vettel 1m16.607s SOFT C4 NEW
Verstappen 1m16.722s SOFT C4 NEW
Leclerc 1m17.072s SOFT C4 NEW
FP1 - BEST TIME BY COMPOUND
COMPOUND DRIVER TIME
HARD C2 Sainz 1m20.569s
MEDIUM C3 Leclerc 1m17.446s
SOFT C4 Hamilton 1m17.327s
FP2 - BEST TIME BY COMPOUND
COMPOUND DRIVER TIME
HARD C2 Bottas 1m18.667s
MEDIUM C3 Verstappen, Vettel 1m17.960s
SOFT C4 Vettel 1m16.607s
MOST LAPS BY COMPOUND SO FAR
COMPOUND DRIVER LAPS
HARD C2 Kvyat 25
MEDIUM C3 Vettel 25
SOFT C4 Giovinazzi 22
INTERMEDIATE Leclerc 3
TYRE STATISTICS OF THE DAY
HARD MEDIUM SOFT INTERMEDIATE
Kms driven* 710 1876 2324 98
Sets used overall** 9 32 41 17
The above number gives the total amount of kilometres
driven in FP1 and FP2 today, all drivers combined.
** Per compound, all drivers combined.
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