Pirelli has presented the tyre strategies and compounds available for the Australian Grand Prix. The tyre supplier advises drivers to aim for a strategy of only a single pit stop.
According to Pirelli, the fastest strategy is to start on the medium compound and then change to the hard tyre after lap 14. This is the same strategy Charles Leclerc used to win the Australian Grand Prix a year earlier. Other strategies suggested by Pirelli include starting on the soft tyre and then changing to the hard tyre, or a two-stop where drivers opt for a medium-hard-soft combination.
As overtaking is relatively difficult at the Albert Park circuit, tyre strategy will be even more important than in other races. Last year, for example, Alexander Albon managed to outpace the competition by employing a very bold strategy: the Williams driver did not make his first and only pit stop of the race until the second-to-last lap.
Available tyre compounds
The fastest strategy suggested by Pirelli suits the drivers: everyone has unused sets left of both the medium and hard compound. The soft tyre seems to be quite vulnerable in the cooler conditions that have plagued Melbourne this race weekend, which also immediately explains why several drivers also have no new sets of softs left. Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are the only drivers with two new sets of hard tyres left.