F1 Miami Grand Prix: What are the technique choices?

MIAMI, Florida — Welcome to race day on the System 1 Miami Grand Prix.

An interesting afternoon awaits followers each right here in Miami and around the globe. Max Verstappen discovered the “bits” he wanted to seize pole place forward of Lando Norris, that means we might see one other battle royale into Flip 1.

Lurking behind these two are the duo of Kimi Antonelli and Oscar Piastri, who had a scrap of their very own into Flip 1 in yesterday’s F1 Dash race.

However as at all times in F1, tires could inform the story. What are the potential tire methods for the 2025 Miami Grand Prix? Let’s dive in.

What occurred on the 2024 Miami Grand Prix?

Final season’s race was for essentially the most half a one-stop affair. The vast majority of the sphere began on the medium compound, which final yr was the C3, earlier than switching to the C2 exhausting compound.

Tire put on was at a low a yr in the past, which created an enormous window for pit stops. Sergio Pérez was the primary of the lead drivers to make his cease, coming into the pits on Lap 17. Norris, nonetheless, was nonetheless on the observe on Lap 29 on his set of C3 tires, and he took benefit of a Security Automotive to make a pit cease underneath these circumstances and emerge because the race chief on a recent set of exhausting tires.

Solely three drivers used the C4 tire a yr in the past, which was the tender compound. However as we’ll see in a second, with Pirelli going a step softer this yr, that’s the medium compound for at the moment’s race.

What are the technique choices for 2025?

This yr Pirelli has opted to go a step softer with the tires, with the C3 because the exhausting, the C4 because the medium, and the C5 because the tender.

However with the tires proving to be extra sturdy this yr, the query of tire degradation continues to be a matter of open debate. In accordance with Pirelli, based mostly on the information accessible from Miami the one-stop nonetheless seems to be the quickest technique.

“If the race is run within the dry, the small quantity of information gathered yesterday and at the moment, with only one free apply session and the Dash run nearly fully within the moist, solely serves to consolidate the technique forecasts from earlier than the weekend. Regardless of the transfer to a trio of compounds one step softer than in 2024, the one-stop is on paper, the quickest, with Medium and Exhausting as the plain decisions,” mentioned Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Director of Motorsport, after qualifying on Saturday.

To that time Pirelli favors the medium-hard technique, stopping anyplace from Lap 19 to Lap 25. However groups might additionally go for a hard-medium method, staying on the observe somewhat longer and making the change round Lap 32 to Lap 38:

Nonetheless, there are some off-set methods groups might go for, akin to beginning on a set of the C5 tender tires to attempt to decide up some positions on the observe, after which pitting round Lap 8 to Lap 14 to make a change. Which may require a two-stop, soft-hard-hard method.

As we’ll see in a second, each workforce save for Visa Money App Racing Bulls has saved two units of exhausting tires. This might be insurance coverage within the case of a Security Automotive, nevertheless it might additionally give these groups an off-set possibility.

What tires does each driver have accessible?

Listed here are the tires every driver has accessible for the 2025 Miami Grand Prix:

As famous above, each workforce apart from VCARB has two units of exhausting tires accessible. Most have two recent units of C3 tires, whereas Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll have one recent set, and one scrubbed set.

Solely a handful of drivers — Lewis Hamilton, Liam Lawson, Alonso, Stroll, Nico Hülkenberg, Pierre Gasly, and Oliver Bearman — have recent units of soppy tires accessible.

What in regards to the climate?

Properly, right here is the proverbial X-Issue.

As we noticed yesterday, circumstances on the Miami Grand Prix may be somewhat difficult in moist climate. Whereas the rain we noticed forward of the F1 Dash race eased up by the point the lights went out, the circumstances — and because the drivers defined the spray from the climate tires expelling water behind them — diminished visibility to near-zero.

However whilst many of the observe dried out sure parts, such because the chicane by way of Turns 11 by way of 16, have been nonetheless seeing swimming pools of water.

Which may imply if we see rain at the moment, and present forecasts are calling for thunderstorms round race time, drivers may want to carry on for an prolonged stint on the intermediate compound. But, as we noticed within the F1 Dash race, the proper entrance intermediate tire tends to put on rapidly in drying observe circumstances.

“The observe was drying however the lap-times weren’t bettering as a result of excessive put on on the entrance proper was producing understeer,” added Isola.

“This occurred after 10-12 laps within the Dash, which is a vital indicator for the race: if we’ve got a drying observe with an opportunity of extra rain, they’ve obtained to search for water [wetter patches on track]. If they’ll’t, then the inter will put on too rapidly, and so they’ll have to think about one other pit-stop.”

Only one extra aspect to think about in at the moment’s race.