Simone Berra: The optimal strategy is one pit stop

      Pirelli is pleased that in Monza the preliminary estimates matched reality — all three tyre compounds worked effectively without significant degradation...

      Simone Berra, Pirelli's chief engineer: "After the first session, which was interrupted several times and cost everyone valuable time, the second ran more smoothly and the teams were able to carry out their usual programme.

      It was interesting to see how all three available compounds were used during the race simulation. Compared with last year, graining does not have a noticeable effect. It is more localized on the tyre surface and did not appear across the board, but on individual cars. We expect that as the track becomes covered with rubber, graining will die out, especially during the Sunday race.

      From a strategic point of view, given that tyre wear appears to be low, the only realistic option seems to be a one-stop pit strategy using Hard and Medium tyres over the distance. But the use of Soft tyres for 15–20 laps cannot be ruled out for drivers who manage to run a very long first stint.

      Furthermore, since by the race most drivers will probably have one set of Mediums and one set of Hards remaining, choosing the Softs could play a role, especially in the event of a race suspension. As for the pace difference between the compounds, our calculations were confirmed on the actual track — four to five tenths of a second between Medium and Soft, and two tenths of a second between Hard and Medium.

      Today lap times were significantly better than in the equivalent sessions last year — roughly nine tenths of a second faster, mainly due to cooler weather — about ten degrees. Times progressed quickly in the first session due to the improving track condition, and stabilised in the second.

      On Friday the Soft tyres allowed competitive times after a couple of warm-up laps, but this was mainly due to the improving track conditions. We believe that in tomorrow's qualifying the first flying lap will be the fastest, so we'll see the classic qualifying format."