Andrea Stella made his predictions for the Formula 1 Canadian GP and the executive believes that Ferrari and Red Bull will perform better than McLaren and Mercedes after Pirelli tests conducted on a wet track earlier this year.
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Throughout the season, the tire supplier carries out activities and all teams are invited to participate. This year, the teams that took part in wet track sessions were Isack Hadjar, from Red Bull, and Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson, from Racing Bulls, in Suzuka after the Japanese GP; Lewis Hamilton at the Fiorano track, Ferrari’s headquarters, in April; and Pierre Gasly, from Alpine, in Magny-Cours earlier this month.
The participation can be quite useful this Sunday, the 23rd, as the forecast for the race in Canada is rain. “I really think this is an advantage, because there is uncertainty regarding the behavior of the power unit. After a few races, we are still talking about the exploration of the power unit,” said Stella.
“On [wet] asphalt, things deviate even more than you anticipate and than you can simulate. Therefore, the power unit certainly remains an element of variability that is concerning. And if you had tested with it, maybe you would know a little more,” he continued.
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“Similarly, from the tire perspective, it is not clear whether they will work within their temperature window or if they will be slightly outside it. And I speak specifically here about the temperature window because this circuit has no high-speed corners, so it is difficult to generate temperature. The asphalt is very, very smooth. It is one of the smoothest tracks of the season,” he added.
“Moreover, it’s not like we have had several [wet] sessions – as I said, none during a race weekend for Pirelli to even calibrate where it positioned the compound. There are so many variables to be discovered for us as we don’t have much experience in the wet. And that represents a small advantage for those who did tests,” he concluded.
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