Bad Weather Threatens Pirelli’s Tire Experiment at Belgian GP

According to Pirelli Motorsport, the strategic experiment prepared since early May faces potential failure due to adverse weather forecast at this week’s Belgian GP.

The heatwave across northwestern Europe has given way to a cyclonic low-pressure system — bringing Atlantic rain with expected rainfall of 50mm across the UK, northern France, and Belgium.

Mario Isola, Pirelli’s motorsport manager, explained the reasoning behind this experiment:

“Teams always find a way to apply a one-stop strategy. We’re not forcing them to use a two-stop strategy, but we want more exciting and unpredictable races.”

Pirelli decided to use the C1 compound as the hard tire instead of C2 — while medium and soft tires remain C3 and C4. The characteristic difference between hard and medium tires is expected to make one-stop strategies less advantageous in terms of lap times.

The Spa-Francorchamps circuit with its challenging layout and high speeds was considered ideal for testing hard compound differences. However, unpredictable weather in the Ardennes region could disrupt these plans — forcing Pirelli to seek another opportunity for similar experiments.