Classic two-stop strategy for today’s Hungarian Grand Prix, says Pirelli

Formula One’s tyre manufacrurer Pirelli expects drivers to stop twice at today’s Hungarian Grand Prix with all three tyre compounds set to make an appearance.

For the Hungarian Grand Prix, Pirelli has chosen the same three softest compounds as last year, with the C3 as P Zero White hard, C4 as the P Zero Yellow medium and the C5 as the P Zero Red soft, which is a step softer compared to the season in which the 18” tyres first appeared.

Yesterday’s qualifying saw McLaren secure a front row lock-out with Lando Norris (1’15”227) on pole ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri by just 22 thousandths (1’15”249). This was the Englishman’s third pole position following on from the one in Sochi in 2021 and in Barcelona this year.

On the second row of the grid, we find Max Verstappen in the Red Bull, third in 1’15”273, just 46 thousandths of a second slower than Norris, and Carlos Sainz fourth for Ferrari, 469 thousandths down.

Commenting on qualifying, Pirelli’s Motorsport Director, Mario Isola noted: “Once again, here at the Hungaroring, we witnessed a spectacular qualifying, with the first three drivers lapping within 46 thousandths of a second of each other, while there were also several twists and turns.

“That all points to it being a very closely contested race tomorrow, both right at the front and in the battle for the remaining points.

“It’s worth noting that, over the course of a year, car performance has increased significantly, given that today’s pole position time is almost one and a half seconds quicker than last year on what is one of the shortest tracks on the calendar.

As for the weather conditions, they were very different compared to Friday. Right from the third free practice session, the temperatures were much lower, especially the track, which was over 20 °C cooler than in FP1. Furthermore, rain put in an appearance just before qualifying and then reappeared occasionally, but the track never got wet enough to require the use of intermediate tyres.

The drop in temperature made it easier for the drivers to manage the C5 on a flying lap, improving the balance of the car across the two axles and reducing overheating of the rear tyres, which was particularly significant yesterday in the final sector.

As for the strategy, Pirelli expects drivers to stop twice today. The two quickest strategies would see drivers start on the mediums to have a good initial grip off the line.

After the opening stint, drivers could change to the hards before completing the rest of the distance on another set of mediums. However, those who have two sets of hards, can elect to use another set of hards for their last stint.

The red-walled tyres have lost their peak grip after the first flying lap so far over the weekend, but they were reasonable over a longer stint. That is why Pirelli thinks that that the C5 rubber could be picked as a starting compound by those who intend to go for an aggressive strategy in order to get excellent grip at the start.

“In terms of strategy this is a race where the classic two-stop is the clear favourite. On paper, the quickest option is to start on the Medium before then bringing in the Hard.

“Clearly, the number of available sets of these two harder compounds will determine the teams’ decisions. On that topic, there are three teams – Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari – whose drivers only have one set of new Hard and two of new Medium available, while one, Aston Martin, has one set of new Medium and one of new Hard. All the other teams have at least two sets of Hard and one of Medium.

“Another very important factor to consider will be a return to hotter conditions for tomorrow with the track expected to exceed the 50 °C mark by a considerable margin.”