Verstappen: "Will not make much difference whether you qualify on hard or medium"
The warm temperatures in Barcelona are unique to F1. Normally, the entire field runs on the circuit in Spain in May, but due to the corona virus, F1 has chosen to go to the circuit in August where the winter test is normally held. The warm temperatures will cause many strategy changes this weekend.
“The performance of the tyres was exactly in line with our expectations. The differences between the tires are about as we estimated them. The work we did today was mainly focused on changing the tires over a longer stint," Mario Isola explains in a Pirelli press update.
Little difference between hard and medium
“In doing so, we looked at the performance of the softest tyre over a single lap and over a longer stint, which is likely going to be hugely important to the strategy. hardest tire, which makes it important to look at how to use the softest tire for as long as possible," explains Isola.
That the hardest tyre differs enormously, does not correspond to what Max Verstappen was able to report after FP2. "I think we can survive the Q2 on the medium or the hardest tyre, there is not really a difference," said the Dutchman at Motorsport.com. Isola expects that there will be two more stops, despite the tyre with which the drivers start. "Many teams will already be looking at applying a two-stopper to maximize performance," said Isola.