Pirelli believe the performance and low rate of wear on their tyres experienced during practice in Monza, could see some drivers opting for one-stop strategies.
Last year Sebastian Vettel opted for a two-stop race to take the checkered flag first, but Pirelli opted to bring the soft and medium compounds, unlike this year when the medium and hard will be in action – although due to a softening of the compounds, they’re similar in durability.
“Despite the typically warm conditions in Monza our tyres performed very well, with the hard compound in particular delivering almost as much performance as the medium, with greater durability,” said Paul Hembery.
“We might see different approaches tomorrow, and some drivers could even try a one-stop strategy for the race: the winning tactic in Belgium a week ago, which used the same compounds. Although there are many places in Monza that put a lot of energy through the tyres, the overall wear rate has been very good today, which allowed a number of the drivers to set their fastest times later on in their runs.”
Hembery expects flat-out racing in Monza on Sunday, rather than an exercise of tyre preservation as has been seen at numerous races this year.
“We saw some very long runs on both compounds so we should see flat-out racing from start to finish on Sunday – which is what our home race at Monza is most famous for.
“For the first time in a while we look set for a completely dry weekend, which should allow the teams to start the race with plenty of relevant data.”
