Pirelli will bring a trio of the softest C3, C4 and C5 compounds to Monaco. What strategies can teams choose?

Pirelli brings a trio of the softest tyre compounds to the legendary and well-worn streets of Monaco. However, the Monaco race is one of the least predictable on the F1 calendar. What did Pirelli Marketing Director Zdenek Vacl have to say about the upcoming race in terms of strategy?

While more and more city circuits are appearing on the F1 calendar, Monaco is just one. The legendary circuit on the streets of Monte Carlo has been part of the Grand Prix calendar since the first season in 1950 and is the only one that has remained unchanged since then.

What’s more, the streets open to regular traffic every evening, meaning track conditions change significantly over the course of the weekend. All of this has led to the choice of the softest tyre compounds.You won’t find a race like the Monaco Grand Prix on the Formula 1 calendar. There are several grand prix events that take place right on the streets of the city.

But Monaco is also the oldest circuit to remain on the calendar without major changes, and its location makes it an icon. Although F1 is now run in some of the most stunning locations in the world, watching the screaming monoposts on the shores of the Mediterranean (preferably from the deck of a yacht) is always a highlight of the season.

Given its long history, Monaco can hardly surprise drivers and teams. While track conditions can change significantly over the course of a race weekend, especially with the streets open to regular traffic each evening, teams are already familiar with its quirks.

Pirelli, which is once again the exclusive supplier of tyres to F1, has this time reached the complete opposite end of the spectrum of compounds on offer. While the trio of hardest compounds were used in Spain, the softest will be used in Monaco. The hard P Zero White will be designated as the C3 compound, the medium P Zero Yellow will be C4 and the soft P Zero Red will be the C5 compound.

This choice is in response to the combination of slippery street tarmac that ordinary civilian cars drive on every night of the race weekend, and indeed throughout the rest of the year, and relatively low speeds.

The tyres don’t suffer much wear, so soft compounds are not a problem, while their increased grip comes in handy in the twisty streets. All of this also means that it will go to one pit stop, although the window for it is very wide this time.

The situation may also be affected by the safety car, whose deployment is quite likely on a tight circuit. Despite a lot of experience with this circuit, there will be some first-timers after all. It will be the first time that the new generation of F1 monoposts will start here and the first time that they will run on the new 18″ tyres.

Monaco is also typical in terms of the very high downforce setting of the monopost, which is not quite typical for other circuits. So there will be a lot to learn.

“Monaco is often described as one of the least predictable races of the year. The truth is that qualifying is extremely important here because overtaking is very difficult on a narrow circuit. As a result, it will be crucial to find a way to make the most of the softest C5 compound in practice, which has only been used in one race so far this year, in Australia,” said Pirelli Marketing Director Zdeněk Vacl.

“With the disappearance of the rule that drivers must start the race on the same tyre on which they set the fastest lap in Q2, different strategies can be expected this year,” he explained.

“Some drivers will choose harder compounds at the start of the race to get a longer first stint, which makes sense given the difficulty of overtaking. Others, on the other hand, may take a more traditional approach in this very strategic race, starting on the softest compound,” Vacl predicts the strategic alternatives for drivers and teams.

Source: Pirelli