Isola: There are several possible strategies in the race.

      Pirelli’s head of the racing division Mario Isola summed up the sprint qualifying in Austin, won by Max Verstappen, and spoke about tyre strategy options for the Sunday race.

      Mario Isola: "As expected, everyone started the sprint on Medium tyres, and the only difference was whether they were on new sets or scrubbed-in ones. Tyre degradation proved to be high but predictable, however after a few laps behind the safety car the drivers were able to attack flat out without worrying about tyre condition.

      In qualifying, times were set on new Soft tyres. Due to the high temperature it was harder to restore tyre performance after the first flying lap. This meant drivers effectively had only one chance to beat their rivals, and lap times were slower than expected because of the high track temperature.

      Hard tyres become a viable option for the race, taking into account that the speed delta with Medium was lower than expected. Considering all available compounds, different strategic options can be implemented, bearing in mind that they are all close in terms of total race time.

      If you stretch the first stint on Medium to laps 20–26, you can do the race with one pit stop, switching to C1. But a two-stop strategy with Soft and Medium is equivalent: start on Soft, then switch to C3 between laps 12 and 18. After that teams can decide whether to put Mediums on the final stint, since you can lengthen the second stint and run the final laps on Soft for extra speed.

      A one-stop strategy with Medium and Soft would require extremely careful tyre management. In addition, there is a risk of losing pace, so we consider that option unlikely.

      Today we saw that drivers must pay attention to two additional factors that complicate driving: gusting wind and uneven tarmac. The first issue increases the risk of lock-ups under braking, which could potentially narrow the tyres’ operating window.

      Uneven tarmac can cause micro-slips, which will raise tyre temperatures and make controlling their thermal degradation more difficult."