Formula 1’s softer tyre selection for this weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix is making it harder for Red Bull to challenge McLaren, says Max Verstappen.
Pirelli has introduced its new softest compound, the C6, this weekend. Its tyre range for Imola is therefore one step softer than it was last year.
In qualifying, drivers found they had to manage the soft tyre to get the best out of it even over a single lap. Red Bull considered using the medium tyre compound in Q3, but did not want to use Verstappen’s last remaining set before tomorrow’s race.
McLaren have tended to manage their tyres better than their rivals this year. Verstappen said the softer rubber therefore suits them.
“Yesterday was a tough start, but I think today we definitely put it in a better window,” he said after qualifying. “I was a bit happier with how the car was coming alive and also the balance of the car. So that’s a positive.
“It’s just that the tyre compounds this weekend didn’t really help us by being that soft because we know we overheat our tyres more than we would like. So that is still a focus point for us.”
While overheating has tended to be a problem for Red Bull in races, Verstappen said it was also a challenge for them in qualifying this weekend.
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“The only problem I had in qualifying was basically the faster I wanted to go, the more problems I had with the tyres just overheating,” he said. “That was holding me back in Q3 already, run one.
“Then when I tried to go faster on the second run, sector one was great, and then I just ran out of tyres. I just started understeering more, and just tried to keep the lap together, really. That’s a bit of a shame.”
Verstappen agreed with the team’s decision not to risk running the medium tyre compound in qualifying. “Of course, we came in and I saw George [Russell] was on a medium. And honestly, I also felt better in FP3 on the medium.
“But you don’t really have the tyres to qualify on it properly. And of course, for tomorrow, we want to make sure we have the tyres in a good window.”
He said the C6 tyre is “really on the limit or already a bit over the limit” for a track like Imola and doesn’t expect drivers to use it in the race. “I don’t think many people will touch the C6 if you need to do a lot of laps in a row, but we’ll see tomorrow.”
“I’ll just try to do a good start and see where I’m at with the pace, because yesterday wasn’t particularly good in the long run also,” he added. “[We’ll] just see with the new set-up we have on the car, hopefully it all sticks a bit better on the Tarmac and hopefully, in general, we’ll be a bit more competitive.”
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