Pirelli say Brazilian GP “one of the most entertaining races” in 2018

Pirelli motorsport boss Mario Isola hailed the Brazilian Grand Prix as one of the most exciting in all of 2018. The race was won by Lewis Hamilton after 71 laps of excitement and drama which was only added to by varying tyre strategy.

There was variation and unpredictability in strategy which some races had been lacking in recent times. The race at Interlagos was aided by the events of the day before with Ferrari opting to run the soft tyres in Q2 giving them more flexibility in theory on strategy for the race.

Red Bull, as usual, had been easier on their tyres than the other front-running teams of Ferrari and Mercedes but their gentle use of the tyres was magnified in Sao Paolo to such a degree they were genuine contenders for the race victory. Had it not been for a clash with Esteban Ocon, Max Verstappen would likely have taken the win.

“As expected weather conditions were warmer, which contributed to some cases of blistering," Isola said.

“Brazil was definitely one of the most entertaining races of the year, where strategy was not only crucial but also very varied.

“Despite these extremely different approaches, the fight was very close among all the top teams and there was plenty of wheel-to-wheel racing, which is exactly the objective that we are all aiming for in Formula 1: drivers pushing hard for the win rather than managing pace.

“Red Bull and Verstappen made particularly good use of the tyres by showing consistent race-winning pace while using only the two softest compounds and stopping just once.

“Congratulations to Mercedes for another manufacturers’ title, sealed with another victory for Hamilton.”