Pirelli targets Madrid strategy with tire choices

Pirelli has set three distinct tire allocations for Formula 1’s next run of races, keeping the mid-range C2, C3 and C4 compounds for Zandvoort and the new Madring while taking the softest C3, C4 and C5 selection to Monza.

The most significant call comes for Formula 1’s first visit to Madrid, where Pirelli has had to work without any race data and base its choice on simulations. For the new Spanish Grand Prix, the supplier has nominated C2, C3 and C4 for a 22-corner layout with major elevation changes and the longest banked corner on the calendar.

Pirelli said its analysis of the Madring showed tyre loads comparable to Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps. It said the medium-range selection is intended to favor a two-stop strategy and give teams more protection against overheating if temperatures rise, with the softest compound considered more vulnerable in those conditions. The hardest C1 was also avoided.

That makes Madrid the clearest example of Pirelli trying to shape the race around uncertainty. The company expects a wide spread of corner types to create varying demands through the lap, and the lack of historical references means teams will arrive with less confidence about long-run behavior than they would at a more familiar venue.

Monza, by contrast, gets the opposite end of the range. Pirelli will bring C3, C4 and C5 to the Italian Grand Prix, where the high time loss in the pit lane usually pushes teams to extend stints and aim for a one-stop race. That approach could still come under pressure if temperatures are especially high, because degradation would become much harder to manage.

At Zandvoort, Pirelli has repeated last year’s C2, C3 and C4 allocation. The Dutch circuit’s medium- and low-speed corners, plus its two banked turns, generate high vertical and lateral loads on the tires, while the low-grip surface is made trickier by sand blown in from the nearby beaches.

Taken together, the three selections point to very different strategic targets across the next phase of the season: a likely two-stop opportunity at Madrid, a one-stop bias at Monza if conditions allow, and a return to a known balance at Zandvoort on one of the calendar’s more unusual tire tests.