Saturday: Pirelli P Zero and Cinturato were celebrated today

It was at the end of the only qualifying session of the season run on wet conditions, characterized by significant variations in grip levels and a red flag that interrupted Q2 for more than an hour and a half, that Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari secured an intense first pole position with the Pirelli Cinturato Green intermediate compound.

No driver used slick tires in qualifying, preferring the three sets of rain tires and the four sets of intermediate tires provided for Saturday and Sunday in accordance with the sporting regulations. An additional set of intermediates, available on Friday when conditions were declared wet, was returned to Pirelli in the morning before the final free practice session.

With light rain during Q1, the drivers immediately went out on the intermediate Cinturato Green compound, in case conditions worsened. All 24 cars were on track in the opening minutes, with the key to a fast lap being to find space on the circuit as the track was evolving every second. Sauber was the only team to try slicks briefly, but an increase in rain intensity forced them to switch back to intermediates.

Heavier rain fell in Q2, with the Cinturato Blue rain tire becoming the default option, although Ferrari chose to start the session on intermediates. As conditions worsened, teams tried to spend as much time on the track as possible, hoping to find a clear window amidst the traffic. With six minutes remaining in the timed period, the red flag was waved, and the session was interrupted. Q2 resumed at 3:07 PM local time once the track had been efficiently dried by the marshals! Most drivers returned to the track on rain tires, with only the two Saubers trying intermediates. Kamui Kobayashi quickly switched back to rain tires, while Perez stuck to his initial choice, finishing 17th. Times dropped as the track gradually dried, with Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren setting the fastest time with the Cinturato Blue.

The majority of drivers who made it to Q3 used the Cinturato Green intermediate compound, with only three of them attempting a run on wet tires (Hamilton, Räikkönen, and Schumacher) before backing out. It was at the moment when the track was gaining grip that Fernando Alonso put together a perfect lap and snatched pole position in the final seconds.

The last free practice session of the morning was crucial, as it was the only opportunity for teams to run on slick tires. Alonso was the fastest with a time of 1:32.167 using the P Zero Yellow soft compound, almost 20 seconds faster than his pole time of 1:51.746!

The forecasts for Sunday’s race remain uncertain, even though there is a possibility of seeing all tire compounds (slick, intermediate, wet) in action. This makes it extremely difficult for teams to define the strategy, but only a set of wet tires should be able to last the entire race in constantly wet conditions. If the race starts on intermediate or wet compounds (as it did at Silverstone last year), drivers are no longer required to use both slick compounds during the race.

Paul Hembery, Director of Pirelli Motorsport: « A little like last year’s Canadian Grand Prix, we experienced a fairly long interruption during Silverstone qualifying, followed by a very exciting finale that was worth the wait! Although our wet tires can disperse 60 liters of water per second, the amount of standing water and spray from the cars made conditions too dangerous to continue in Q2. The mixed conditions threw a lot of variables onto the table in terms of grip, and tomorrow’s race will come down to the drivers or teams that can best read the forecasts despite the limited amount of data accumulated so far. Establishing the crossover point of tire performance was key for qualifying, with intermediates proving the fastest at the end of the session; something that is likely to be crucial again tomorrow.

[From the official Pirelli press release]