Isola: I didn't expect a rainy qualifying session in the desert.

      Pirelli’s Head of Motorsport Mario Isola summed up qualifying in Las Vegas, which was topped by Lando Norris, and outlined the tyre-strategy options for Sunday’s race.

      Mario Isola: "I never expected to see a wet qualifying session in the middle of the desert, but Las Vegas continues to surprise. In practice the teams were able to gather useful information, as 30% of the laps were completed on wet-weather tyres. However, this was not enough to immediately understand which tyre compound was best suited to qualifying.

      After the first laps on intermediates it became clear that in these conditions wets were needed, which provided sufficient grip on the initial fast laps before the track began to dry, allowing a switch back to intermediates. The crossover point identified in today’s running will be important information if the same conditions recur at the start of the Grand Prix.

      When considering possible strategy options based on the limited amount of available data, we are assuming the race will be run on a dry track. Taking into account the level of graining of the Soft tyres, that compound is unlikely to be suitable for an effective race strategy. In theory the quickest option is a one-stop: start on Medium, switch to Hard between laps 20 and 26, and then a long final stint.

      Starting on the yellow-banded tyres also opens up competitive options. Teams that have kept two sets of Hards could try a two-stop strategy – Medium-Hard-Hard – which would see stops between laps 12 and 18 and between laps 27 and 33.

      A similar option could be used by those who have two sets of Mediums left: run the first stint on them, then switch to Hard and return to Medium between laps 32 and 38.

      Using Softs will inevitably involve two pit stops. The qualifying set can be used most effectively at the start, then switch to Medium between laps 8 and 14 for the second stint, and then return to Soft between laps 34 and 40."