One-stop strategies could be possible in Montreal

Both McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s team manager Massimo Rivola believe that it could be possible for drivers to complete one-stop strategies throughout Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix, even though tyre wear is relatively high around the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.

For the second weekend in succession, Pirelli have brought the soft (yellow) and super-soft (red) tyre compounds to the race. These are the two softest compounds in Pirelli’s arsenal, and with rear tyre degradation expected to be high this weekend a one-stop strategy could be a risky option to take.

"Tyre degradation could be an issue, and it will be very close,” Explained Lewis Hamilton, who finished fastest in both sessions on Friday. “Ferrari seem to have good tyre degradation at the back end of their car, at least in the last race, so it looks like it could be another one-stop race, with the tyres doing well over 30 laps.”

Last time out in Monaco, the majority of the field opted for a one-stop strategy due to the nature of the Monte-Carlo street circuit and the low levels of degradation. With the super-soft tyres lasting longer than expected, it seems the same strategy could be used this weekend.

"I think it will be one of the key points of the race," explained Massimo Rivola, who agrees with Hamilton regarding one-stop strategies. "I don’t know how many of us were convinced Monaco would be a one-stopper. Today we’ve seen very long runs from whoever has used the super-softs more than us. We’ve seen Vettel doing 19 laps on super-softs while remaining very consistent. We’ve seen both Lotuses in FP1 doing 21 very consistent laps. On paper it’s true it may seem like a one-stop race, but Sunday’s temperatures will be very different from today’s. With probably 15 degrees more in asphalt temperatures it might be a completely different scenario, so we’ll need to be ready to react depending how it presents itself."

The 2012 season has already become renowned for being dictated to by the Pirelli tyres, and even a minor change in track temperatures can alter the workings of the tyre. With the Friday practice sessions running in relatively cooler conditions than is forecast for the remainder of the weekend, Massimo Rivola could be correct in thinking their knowledge of the super-soft compound could change day by day.

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