Berra: Temperature degradation is a key factor

      Pirelli summed up the results of the first day of work on the track in Barcelona, noting the increase in speeds compared to last year.

      Simone Berra, Pirelli Chief Engineer: "The Spanish Grand Prix is always very interesting from a technical point of view, given the difficult tasks that the drivers have to perform and the high loads that the cars and tires are experiencing.  

      This year was no exception, and if we talk about our products, they are undergoing a very severe test, especially in conditions of fairly high temperatures.

      Today we saw that the teams were working with all three sets of tires, and all the riders used at least one set of Hard tires, leaving only one set of hard tires for Sunday.

      It seems that the speed difference between the trains meets our expectations, it is about 0.9 seconds between Hard and Medium, and about 0.6-0.7 seconds between Medium and Soft. The data collected on long laps, especially from Mercedes, was very useful: the team extended these series longer than usual, both on soft tires and on medium-hard tires.

      Since the asphalt surface is very abrasive, on Sunday one of the key factors will be the temperature degradation of the tires mounted on the rear axle. To try to protect the rear tires, the teams will have to pay special attention to the balance of the cars, as there is a risk that the load on the front tires may increase, especially on the left wheel.

      In this scenario, if someone wants to extend the stretch, it will be necessary to take into account the intensity and degree of wear of the rubber, especially the front left tire, which works with increased load.

      Already today, the condition of the track surface has improved noticeably; we can see that speeds are increasing, and the best lap time exceeded last year's figure by half a second.

      If we think about what awaits us on Sunday, it is easy to assume that we will see a scenario similar to what happened at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2024, when mainly Medium and Soft tires were used, and the race was held with two pit stops."