GP2 and GP3 move on to Silverstone, one of the most demanding tracks that the two categories race on during the year.
For GP2, the P Zero Orange hard tyre has been nominated along with the Yellow soft. In GP3, the medium compound has been chosen as the sole tyre. Silverstone is a demanding circuit for the tyres with many fast corners creating high lateral energy loads. In the British summer the weather can be hard to predict, with hot and cool temperatures both possible and rain showers far from unusual.
As usual, the GP3 drivers will have a carry-over set of tyres from the previous round (in Austria) – which in this case is the soft compound. That gives the drivers an extra challenge when it comes to determining the set-up, as the soft is obviously much more suited to the sinuous nature of the Austrian track, rather than the flat-out straights of Silverstone.
Pirelli’s racing manager says:
Mario Isola: “The high demands of the Silverstone circuit have led us to nominate the hard and soft compounds for GP2 and GP3, with the medium tyre for the GP3 drivers. The high degradation means this will need to be managed carefully in the race though, and precision will be important to a good qualifying time. The strategic opportunities in the race should be high however, and it’s a circuit where overtaking is certainly possible in GP2 and GP3. In GP2 especially, the different levels of performance of the two compounds chosen should provide the opportunity for varying strategies.”
The challenge for the tyres:
Silverstone’s numerous high-speed corners – such as Abbey, Copse, Maggots and Becketts – make for some of the highest lateral loads seen all season.
Although there are several straights too, the importance of the corners to lap time mean teams run with high downforce, and that adds large vertical loads onto the tyres.
The combination of fast corners and a surface that is high in grip means tread temperatures can exceed 100 degrees centigrade. The weather also has an impact and Silverstone has been known in the past to go from cool and/or wet conditions to high temperatures within one weekend.
The race and the rules:
GP2
Every car will have five sets of dry tyres and three sets of wet weather tyres available for the GP2 race weekend. The five sets of dry tyres comprise three sets of the hard compound and two sets of the soft compound.
The drivers can use their tyre allocation in any way they like, but at least one set of each compound must be used in the feature race (unless it is a wet race). One set of the harder compound must be returned after free practice.
Qualifying takes place at 15:55 on Friday, after practice at 12:00. The feature race on Saturday at 14:40 lasts 29 laps and each driver must complete one compulsory pit stop. This cannot take place within the first six laps. Unlike Formula 1, the drivers do not have to start the race using the tyres they qualified on.
The grid for the sprint race on Sunday at 09:25 is determined by the finishing order of the first race, with the top eight positions reversed. It is run over 21 laps, with no compulsory pit stops.
GP3
Every car will have three sets of dry tyres and two sets of wet weather tyres available for the GP3 race weekend. Only one compound is nominated: medium for this weekend. The drivers can use the tyre allocation in any way they like.
Drivers are allowed to carry over one tyre set from the previous round for use in free practice only. This will be the soft tyre from Austria.
There is one practice session, one qualifying session and two races in GP3. Qualifying takes place at 08:45 on Saturday morning, after a single free practice session on Friday at 17:50. Race One starts at 16:20 on Saturday and lasts for 20 laps, followed by Race Two at 08:15 on Sunday (lasting 15 laps). The grid for Race Two is determined by the finishing order of the first race, with the top eight positions reversed.
