Breaking news
Formula 1 Belgian GP
F1 drivers braced for 'tricky' tyre deg challenge
F1 drivers are in no doubt they face a tricky task keeping tyres alive at the Belgian GP, with high temperatures leaving the supersoft past its best before the end of just one lap.
Jonathan Noble
Edited: Aug 26, 2016, 6:04 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The temperatures at Spa this weekend have been much higher than anticipated, and that means the tyres are being punished more than expected.
Friday's running confirmed that tyre wear would be excessive, and means that teams will have to prepare for a tough strategy call in deciding which tyres to run in qualifying and the race.
Williams Valtteri Bottas said: "It's really tricky with these temperatures. The supersoft tyre on this kind of track, where you put so much energy into the tyre, is good for sector one, maybe sector two, then it's finished.
"And even with the soft, during the long runs, the amount you need to manage the tyres is incredible. Especially with these tyre pressures you have to run, it's tricky."
Daniel Ricciardo said: "It is definitely very tricky the supersoft. It is difficult to make it last the whole lap...it lasts but you don't really gain much of a performance from it towards the end of the lap.
"It will be tricky with high fuel, I did a few laps on it but it was sliding a lot. We expected that with this heat but it will make the strategy and everything for Sunday more interesting."
Pirelli estimates that the laptime difference between the supersoft and the soft is 1.2 seconds, with the medium likely to be around 1.5 seconds slower again.
That leaves open the possibility that teams may try to get through Q2 on the soft so they can start the race without needing to use the supersoft.
Pirelli's F1 racing manager Mario Isola said: "The best strategy could be medium/soft and could be two or three stops if the supersoft lasts five or six laps at the start.
"They could even use the medium. We know it is slower but if degradation is much lower it becomes a possible compound for the race.
"It will be interesting to see if anyone is qualifying in Q2 on the soft tyre, starting the race with the soft. And this is a good point to see for tomorrow.
"If somebody has to use the supersoft, it means a short stint in the beginning, because with a full tank when they try to do a long run the degradation was very high. There is quite a big difference between a full tank and a qualifying situation."
Pirelli also said that its latest weather forecast was for cooler conditions from tomorrow, which could help ease the levels of degradation.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Pirelli plans to use safer construction from Malaysian GP
Next article Belgian GP: Top 10 quotes after FP2
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
More from
Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo shares heartfelt message after first Indy 500 visit brought back "childhood feelings"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Barcelona-Catalunya GP
Daniel Ricciardo shares heartfelt message after first Indy 500 visit brought back "childhood feelings"
Lando Norris reunites with Daniel Ricciardo for Indy 500 celebrations after disastrous Canadian GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Canadian GP
Lando Norris reunites with Daniel Ricciardo for Indy 500 celebrations after disastrous Canadian GP
Daniel Ricciardo says life feels "more real" after abrupt F1 exit
Formula 1
Formula 1
Canadian GP
Daniel Ricciardo says life feels "more real" after abrupt F1 exit
Latest news
Carson Hocevar says Zane Smith feud is "pretty one-sided"
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
18 min
Carson Hocevar says Zane Smith feud is "pretty one-sided"
Jack Miller says Australian GP cancellation “tough to swallow”: “It is pissing me off”
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
46 min
Jack Miller says Australian GP cancellation “tough to swallow”: “It is pissing me off”
Max Verstappen reacts to COTA boss: "He can drive my car, after five laps he won't be able to walk"
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
1 h
Max Verstappen reacts to COTA boss: "He can drive my car, after five laps he won't be able to walk"
Sammy Smith just pulled off a rare Talladega feat not seen in over twenty years
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Talladega II
1 h
Sammy Smith just pulled off a rare Talladega feat not seen in over twenty years
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe