Written by Owen Bradley, Edited by Ishani Aziz
As of writing, Europe has been in the middle of a massive heatwave, which has even resulted in some wildfires in France, and 12,000 people have been evacuated from an area in France called Gironde, due to these wildfires.
With the French Grand Prix coming up, the heatwave has posed somewhat of a risk, particularly for tyre wear at the Grand Prix. Just over a month ago, the GT World Challenge Europe Series went to Paul Ricard, and during the endurance race, Pirelli’s tyres actually ended up exploding, and drivers were driving with punctures.
With the Grand Prix now looming, some are concerned that the current wildfires and heat waves could drastically alter race strategies, as higher temperatures could mean increased pit stops, to avoid punctures.
The concern is only growing, given that only a month ago Pirelli’s tyres were failing the GT cars, which resulted in so many punctures. Pirelli don’t have the greatest of track records either when it comes to hot temperatures, with races in recent memory, being Silverstone 2020, when Hamilton won the race on three-wheels, and teammate Bottas also suffered a puncture. Similarly, the 2013 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, where six tyres were punctured.
It all hangs in the balance for the French Grand Prix race weekend, for both the Pirelli tyres as well as the teams.
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Then most of the top runners one stopped ... against our well thought out predictions ! Still, only a week until we get to be smart again 😉🤣.
Temp in the mid 30s at Ricard - other than the Mistral Straight its pretty much all twisty so deg could be critical.... I hope Perez is planning a tyre whisperer strategy right from the start of FP1... it could be his chance to get back in the mix.