GP2 AND GP3 DRIVERS USE TYRES TO BOOST THEIR POSITIONS IN MONZA

Monza was the fastest event on the GP2 and GP3 calendar all year, and with the cars closely matched on pace from the very start of the weekend, the drivers used tyre strategy to try to make a difference.

For GP2 the hard and medium tyres were nominated, with warm ambient temperatures and big energy loadings expected. The GP3 drivers had the medium compound, but as all the GP3 compounds are a step softer this year, it was roughly the equivalent of last year’s soft.

The GP2 feature race should theoretically have handed an advantage to those starting on the medium tyres, such as polesitter Pierre Gasly (DAMS) and championship leader Stoffel Vandoorne (ART Grand Prix) – who also started on the front row. This choice was the most popular selection for the top 10. However, strategies were turned upside down by the appearance of an early safety car.

When it came in on lap six, Vandoorne was the first to switch from medium to hard tyres from fourth place. As his rivals also pitted, Vandoorne eventually moved into the lead, but he had Racing Engineering driver Alexander Rossi – who had made up four places on the opening lap to move into contention – right behind him. The American had made his stop from medium to hard on lap nine, and so benefitted from fresher rubber. He was able to use his speed advantage to pass Vandoorne on lap 23 of 30, eventually claiming his second race win of the year and consolidating his runner-up spot in the championship.

One of the most impressive tyre strategies was from Russian Time’s Mitch Evans: a former winner of Pirelli’s GP3 scholarship fund. The New Zealander went from 23rd on the grid to third at the finish, having picked his moment perfectly to go from medium to hard.

Evans, who went on to win the sprint race on Sunday, explained: “I wanted to start the feature race on the medium whether I was P2 or dead last, as I thought that was the better strategy. I took the tyres off on the grid just to cool them down after the warm up lap: I wanted to go as long as possible to try and maximise the medium tyre run. I think we knew the tyre degradation was going to be a big part of the race, and fortunately we were on the better side of that so were able to fight off the guys on the medium at the end, while we were on the hard tyre, which was a bit surprising to be honest. I was quite happy with the pace.”

The GP2 sprint race on Sunday morning was held in warm temperatures, with Racing Engineering’s Jordan King starting from pole. All the drivers used the hard tyre, with no pit stops, so tyre management was key. Evans judged the life of the tyres perfectly, to hunt down the leader and claim the win on the final lap.

In GP3, tyre management was crucial as well, with Arden’s Emil Bernstorff claiming victory from ART’s Esteban Ocon on the penultimate lap of Saturday’s feature race. Bernstorff started from fifth on the grid, but immediately benefitted from poleman Luca Ghiotto (Trident) stalling on the grid. The Englishman enjoyed a combative race and made the most of all the grip available, despite the threat of uncertain weather.

Bernstorff commented: “The tyre degradation looks like it was better for us than anybody else. The tyres went off of course but I was relatively quicker than everybody else so it was fine for me. I kept catching the people in front and a few laps from the end I thought ‘I can have this win!’”

Ghiotto made up for his disappointment on Saturday by going from last to third in Sunday morning’s sprint race, managing his tyres perfectly and pulling off some extremely effective overtaking moves. The race was won by ART’s Marvin Kirchoffer, leading home his team mate Ocon. Koiranen GP’s Jimmy Eriksson also used the tyres well, going from fifth on the grid to take the lead, until a mechanical problem on the penultimate lap meant that he dropped to fifth.

Pirelli’s racing manager Mario Isola concluded: “In both championships, the key to success was long run management: on the hard and medium in GP2, and crucially just the medium in GP3. The way that the drivers managed to rise to the challenge was very impressive: we saw some incredible fightbacks from Evans in GP2 and Ghiotto in GP3, which were very much linked to the clever way in which they used their tyres. As always, the work that the teams completed in free practice was a key part of this success, and this year it was not so easy for them due to a fluctuation in track temperatures on different days. Finally, we were privileged to attend the unveiling of next year’s stunning GP3 car at the start of the weekend, which we will be once more equipping with our tyres. We have already started work to optimise our GP3 tyres to the characteristics of this exciting new car.”

The next round of the GP2 and GP3 Series will be in Russia from 9-11 October.