Pirelli uncertainty leads to soft, softer, softest tyres for final races in F1 season

Tyre supplier Pirelli is choosing the softest possible compounds for the final two races of the season. The tyre supplier has six different tyres, the C0 (the hardest) through to the C5 (the softest). Each weekend they choose three, which then go through life as Hard, Medium and Soft. In Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi, they will race the C3, C4 and C5.

The race in Las Vegas is a big unknown, as it will be driven there for the first time since 1982, but on a completely different circuit. The teams have no real reference and will have to rely on simulations to determine a basic setup, which will be further developed over the weekend. Another unknown factor will be temperatures, as all sessions will take place after sunset.

Pirelli boss Mario Isola said: "Las Vegas is a step into the unknown, for everyone I think. Las Vegas will be cold, it's a street circuit. That's why we worked with the teams and asked them in advance for simulations to try to understand how much energy the layout of the track puts on the tires. We got information from the companies that make the asphalt to understand how the asphalt works. But there are still a lot of question marks at Las Vegas."

"We obviously can't change the weather, we can't raise the temperature. It could be a challenge to keep the temperature in the tire. So we decided to promote grip by using the three softest compounds in the pool. I can imagine a lot of track evolution and little grip. So the teams will complain! That's fine. We will also deal with this situation. But it's an unknown leap of faith. A fast track, long straights, high speed and all conditions that are difficult to manage."

Check below for the entire overview of tyre choices in 2023.