2023 Belgian Grand Prix: Sunday Tyre Analysis

Mediaon July 31, 2023

2023 Belgian Grand Prix: Sunday Tyre Analysis – After winning yesterday’s Sprint, Max Verstappen did the double, winning the Belgian Grand Prix for a third consecutive time. It extends Red Bull’s winning streak to 13, the team unbeaten so far this season. This was the reigning world champion’s 45th career win. Alongside him on the podium in second place was his team-mate Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, third having started from pole position. The additional point for fastest race lap went to Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages, the Englishman finishing fourth.

Mario Isola – Pirelli Motorsport Director

“Finally, a day with reasonable weather, rain only making an appearance briefly without having any significant impact on the way the race played out. Coming into this final part of the weekend practically in the dark, increased the number of unknown factors and, along with the large number of dry weather tyres available, as they were only used for a few laps in yesterday’s qualifying, this gave the teams a wider than usual range of possible strategies. Degradation on the Soft and Medium tyres was in line with our simulations given the relatively low track temperature. These low temperatures also meant the Hard was not very competitive and it was only used by one driver for a few kilometres. In terms of performance, the other two compounds were up to the task and the stint lengths varied according to whether a driver chose to push right from the start to make the most of the available grip, or manage the situation to lengthen the stint as much as possible, which was the case for the three drivers who only made a single pit stop.

“Finally, I would like to congratulate the fans (380,000 attendance) who put up with some very wet weather. They were rewarded with a great show, partly down to the Sprint weekend format which meant that, right from Friday, there was plenty of excitement on track. Formula 1 is soon going to take a short break, although we still have two more days of testing on Tuesday and Wednesday here at Spa, working with Aston Martin and McLaren. The daily work programme will depend a lot on what the weather has to offer.”