Isola: The drivers had no need to save the tyres.

      At the United States Grand Prix teams successfully employed different tactics; for example, Charles Leclerc was one of the few who risked starting on Soft tyres, and that decision allowed him to make up places at the start, and in the end he finished third.

      Most of those who started in the first fifteen positions, including Max Verstappen, who won the race, chose the Medium compound, while three drivers who began the race from the second ten gambled on Hard tyres.

      Mario Isola, Pirelli Motorsport Director: "At the start of today's race teams decided not to limit themselves in their choice of strategy options, so they mainly used the Medium compound, which then provided the greatest flexibility.

      Leclerc was the only driver from the top ten who preferred to start on Soft tyres, and that decision paid off because the Soft compound provided a grip advantage.

      A virtual safety car period was introduced in the early stage of the race, which then allowed everyone who was running on Soft and Medium to extend their first stint by a few laps. The Medium compound worked particularly consistently – probably more consistently than expected.

      Also positive were the track temperature being lower than on Saturday and the improved condition of the surface. All of this together allowed teams to extend the first stint as much as possible.

      As a result, the ‘Medium–Hard’ plan that was originally envisaged inevitably became a less obvious strategy by the middle phase of the race. After a series of pit stops around lap 30 it became clear that almost all the cars would run the final stint on Soft tyres.

      Because rear tyre wear had not reached a critical level, the drivers had no need to look after their tyres and were able to maintain a high pace. This was also aided by the setups chosen by the teams.

      We congratulate Max Verstappen on the victory, as he remains one of the title contenders, and also Charles Leclerc, whose special approach to strategy selection allowed him to get onto the podium."