The hardest tires for Zandvoort

The choice of tyres for a Grand Prix is crucial for the teams and their drivers. It is Pirelli, the brand that supplies the tyres, who makes the tyre selection. For Zandvoort, the hardest tyres were chosen.

A more than judicious choice with a layout that puts the tires of Formula 1 cars to the test. The track is 4.259 km long with 14 turns. Two of these turns are bankings (inclined turns) at 18 degrees. For comparison, the banking of the old Monza track was measured at 30 degrees, and the modern circuits of Indianapolis and Jeddah have inclinations of 9 and 12 degrees respectively.

These turns are taken at high speed by the drivers. The cars and their tires are also subjected to significant lateral and vertical forces.

The director of Pirelli explained in more detail why these tires were chosen.

The most demanding areas for tires are corners 3 and 14, both inclined, which are taken at high speeds and subject the cars to a combination of forces: downforce combined with lateral acceleration.

This, in addition to the additional challenges posed by the layout of the circuit, is the reason why we have selected the three hardest compounds in the range. This is only the fourth time this year that we have made this nomination, following the Bahrain, Spain and Great Britain Grand Prix.

The director also wants to see more shows on a challenging track where it’s hard to overtake.

« This new car-tire combination introduced this year should make overtaking easier on a track where it was difficult to overtake last season: indeed, most drivers made only one stop to avoid losing their position, but it is possible that this time they will mostly be driving on the softest tires. In this case, we could see more two-stop strategies and drivers pushing even harder.

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