SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium -- Despite bringing the three softest tyres in its range to Spa-Francorchamps this weekend, Pirelli is still expecting the Belgian Grand Prix to be a one-stop race. The consistent performance and low degradation of the soft tyre (actually the hardest of the three on offer), means it is likely to be the compound most drivers spend most of their time on.
By regulation, the top ten have to start on the ultra-softs they used in Q2, but expect to see cars heading for the pits from around lap 14. Rain during Friday's long runs means degradation data for the ultra-soft is limited -- few drivers took the purple-striped tyre beyond a 10-lap stint -- but after inspecting the track surface on arrival at Spa, Pirelli believes a significant increase in macro roughness compared to last year will take its toll on the performance of the ultra-softs and the super-softs. The soft, being a harder and higher-working range compound, will hold together for much longer and for that reason teams are likely to ignore the super-soft entirely and switch from ultra-softs to softs at their single pit stop.
Here it is the available shoes 👞👟👠 for tomorrow #BelgianGp 🇧🇪 race 🏁...just in time for your Saturday nite out #F1 👉 https://t.co/Kuh7nQaAK5 pic.twitter.com/03Zm19lcWr
— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) August 26, 2017
The timing of the single stop will be all important and may play into Mercedes' hands as both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were able to get the soft compound turned on quickly in practice. That could open up the possibility of an undercut if Mercedes has the confidence to pit first to soft tyres in the knowledge that it will have a performance advantage over an aging set of ultra-softs.
Although no rain is forecast for Sunday, there is always a chance of an instant deluge at Spa and the teams will be keeping a keen eye on the weather radar around their pit stop windows.