Official tire supplier Pirelli has announced the number of tires each driver can use in the final of the 2022 F1 Round 14 Belgian Grand Prix.
Pirelli has nominated C2 (hard), C3 (medium), C4 (soft) and intermediate hardness compounds in the Spa Grand Corchamps, which will be the stage of the 14th round. It is compulsory to use two types of compound in the final.
The 44 laps of the Belgian Grand Prix can be tackled with either a one-stop or two-stop strategy.
The weather has been unsettled so far, but the final is expected to be a little warmer. The tactical situation is further complicated by the fact that grid penalties cause many faster cars to start from behind.
Starting with Medium is the most flexible approach. This gives him the option to switch between hard and soft as part of the 1-stopper, opening the door for the 2-stopper as well. If necessary. Starting on the soft doesn’t eliminate the 1-stopper, but it needs to be stopped early for the hard or managed carefully before swapping to the medium.
Another, more aggressive approach would be to use softs as part of the 2-stopper. Probably in using the medium tire for two stints. This could hurt track position, but could be a better option for faster cars in the event of a safety car or if the soft degradation proves to be very high.
It will depend a lot on the weather, but the final is likely to be played in conditions that none of the teams have experienced.
Category: F1 / F1 Belgian Grand Prix / Pirelli