Red Bull handed major British GP boost as Pirelli data reveals Verstappen advantage

Ahead of Sunday's race at Silverstone, Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli unveiled the possible race strategies, the performance deltas between the tyre compounds at the start, and the sets of tyres available to each driver. In that regard, Red Bull appear to hold an advantage over several of their rivals at the front of the grid.

For the race, Pirelli have forecast a one-stop strategy, taking into account the track temperatures and tyre degradation witnessed throughout the weekend at Silverstone. Drivers who start on the medium compound tyres can pit between laps 24 and 35, switching either to the hard tyres to reach the end of the race or to the softs should they opt for a more aggressive strategy.

For those starting on the hard tyres, a similar approach can be adopted, with drivers expected to pit between laps 28 and 34 before bolting on the medium tyres for the remainder of the race. Likewise, those beginning on the soft compound can switch to the hard tyres between laps 16 and 22 to execute a one-stop strategy.

In terms of grip off the line and the performance delta up to the first 150kph, the C3 soft compound tyre appears to offer the best launch performance. The medium compound trails by 1.08 metres, while the C1 hard tyre lags by 3.20 metres.

Regarding the available tyre sets, Red Bull, alongside Aston Martin, Haas and the Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas, head into the race with some of the most favourable allocations. All four teams have at least two fresh sets of medium tyres and one new set of hard tyres available, which could prove pivotal in shaping their race strategies.

Other front-runners, including polesitter Kimi Antonelli, have only one new set of medium tyres and one fresh set of hard tyres available for the race. The same applies to much of the grid, with the exception of Franco Colapinto, who heads into the Grand Prix with four new sets of soft tyres, in addition to a fresh medium and hard set.

For the race, Verstappen starts from seventh place following a challenging qualifying session, while teammate Isack Hadjar was only quick enough for fifth.