Emilia Romagna Grand Prix: What are the technique choices?

The grid is ready for the Method 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri nipped Max Verstappen for pole place on Saturday, with George Russell taking third and Piastri’s McLaren teammate Lando Norris qualifying fourth.

However some fascinating tire choices can be found for the 20 drivers for when the lights exit.

Here’s a take a look at the technique choices for the 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

What occurred on the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix?

With clear climate and no security vehicles, the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was a moderately easy affair. Nearly all of the drivers that began inside the highest ten carried out a one-stop race as anticipated, beginning on the medium tires earlier than switching to the laborious compound.

The three drivers who began up entrance — Max Verstappen on pole, adopted by Lando Norris after which Charles Leclerc — completed in that order. Norris was the primary to cease, pitting on Lap 22 for his swap to the laborious tires, adopted by Verstappen on Lap 24 and Leclerc on Lap 25. Over the closing laps, Norris’ laborious tires got here alive, and he chased Verstappen to the checkered flag, ending lower than a second behind the Crimson Bull driver.

A bit additional again within the subject, Oscar Piastri, who began fifth regardless of qualifying second after he was handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Kevin Magnussen in Q1, made an undercut technique work. He began on the medium tire and switched to the laborious on Lap 23, leaping into P4 forward of Carlos Sainz Jr.

Sainz stayed out till Lap 27, and couldn’t chase Piastri down, ending greater than seven seconds behind the McLaren driver.

The highest finisher to make use of a two-stop technique was George Russell, who completed seventh and picked up a bonus level for the quickest lap. Russell began on a set of medium tires, stopping on Lap 21 for a set of hards, after which pitting once more on Lap 52 for an additional set of mediums. Mercedes was involved about excessive ranges of tire put on on his set of hards, and he got here dwelling six seconds forward of Sergio Pérez, who was the one factors scorer to start out on the laborious compound earlier than switching to the medium, which he did on Lap 37.

What are the tire choices for the 2025 race?

Right here is the place issues get attention-grabbing.

Pirelli has gone a step softer within the vary of compounds this yr. A season in the past, the C3 was the laborious tire at Imola, with the C4 used because the medium compound and the C5 because the mushy.

This yr, the brand-new C6 is making its debut because the mushy compound, with the C5 because the medium and the C4 because the laborious. Pirelli made this swap to try to introduce some new technique choices for this yr’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Nevertheless, drivers and groups haven’t discovered the C6 to their liking, with some believing that the size of a lap round Imola, notably throughout qualifying runs, sees the tires degrade close to the tip of the lap. That’s the reason throughout Saturday’s qualifying session, you noticed some groups, most notably Aston Martin, flip to the medium C5 compound for push laps. Aston Martin bolted that compound on each Fernando Alonso’s AMR25 in addition to Lance Stroll’s on the finish of Q2, with each drivers advancing into Q3.

They used that compound — with Alonso utilizing a scrubbed medium set — on the finish of Q3 as nicely, together with Russell.

Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Director of Motorsport, gave his ideas on the C6 compound following Piastri’s pole place run on Saturday in his media report.

“This qualifying session must be analysed rigorously when it comes to tire conduct, because it produced many attention-grabbing insights,” started Isola.

“Everybody was eager to see how the C6 would carry out in qualifying, evaluating it to the C5. From the preliminary information and listening to the speedy feedback from the groups and drivers, we are able to say that the efficiency distinction between the 2 softest compounds within the 2025 vary is comparatively small, which is what was predicted.

“What we noticed immediately, on a monitor that didn’t evolve a lot in comparison with the primary two hours of free apply, was that it wasn’t simple for the drivers to extract the total potential from the C6,” continued Isola. “Understand that this compound had by no means been run on the 2025 vehicles, and through the end-of-season check in Abu Dhabi, solely eight of immediately’s 20 drivers tried it. So it’s doubtless that they should get to know it higher in an effort to get essentially the most out of it.

“This meant that some drivers most well-liked to go along with the C5, a compound they know nicely, on condition that it was already the qualifying tyre for the earlier two races in Jeddah and Miami. They selected to sacrifice a little bit of grip in trade for the lap time benefit that comes from the predictability of a tyre with which they’ve extra expertise and extra information,” concluded the Pirelli Director.

What are the technique choices?

Isola nonetheless believes {that a} one-stop strategy, beginning on the medium compound and switching to the hards, is essentially the most viable choice for groups and drivers.

“As for technique, the one-stop continues to be essentially the most viable alternative, particularly on a monitor the place overtaking is moderately difficult, partly as a result of there is just one DRS zone and in addition as a result of that is the longest pit lane of the season when it comes to time misplaced throughout a pit cease. Clearly, the mixture of Medium and Exhausting, with a cease between Laps 17 and 23, is the most probably,” outlined Isola.

Drivers and groups might choose to start out on the laborious tire and lengthen a stint, staying out till round Laps 37 and 43, and hope for a security automobile to select up a simple pit cease. That could possibly be the technique employed by the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who begin P11 and P12, respectively.

“In its place, some drivers may choose to go for an extended first stint, beginning on the Exhausting, within the hope of an eventual Security Automobile, by which case the swap to Medium could be between laps 37 and 43,” added Isola.

Are there any offset methods accessible?

Might we see somebody roll the cube on a two-stopper?

Isola believes such an strategy would put stated driver at a “drawback.” Whereas the time distinction between a medium-hard and a medium-hard-hard is a number of seconds in accordance with Isola, the mixture of a single DRS zone coupled with the lengthy pit lane, in addition to the difficulties in overtaking, means a one-stop continues to be the favored strategy.

“A two-stop technique just isn’t out of the query when it comes to complete race time, however the components simply talked about imply it’s at an obstacle. For anybody trying this, the perfect mixtures could be Medium-Exhausting-Exhausting,” added Isola.

What about beginning on a set of softs to try to decide up monitor place? That was tried by each Alonso and Pierre Gasly final yr, the one drivers to start out on the C5 mushy compound. They lasted solely seven and eight laps, respectively, and neither driver completed within the factors.

What number of units of every compound do the drivers have accessible?

Whereas the medium tire is perhaps the favored compound, three of the drivers beginning inside the highest ten may have to make do with a scrubbed set of mediums tomorrow: Russell, Alonso, and Stroll.

Listed here are the units of tires accessible for every driver within the 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, in accordance with this diagram from F1:

F1

As you may see, Russell has one set of scrubbed C5 mediums left, whereas each Alonso and Stroll every have a pair of scrubbed mediums remaining.

Alonso and Stroll additionally simply have a scrubbed set of laborious tires left for tomorrow as nicely, so Aston Martin is perhaps taking a look at a scrubbed Sunday relating to tires.