Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli says the upcoming United States Grand Prix will be a question mark for all teams due to its absence from the calendar last year and its resurfacing work.
The Circuit of the Americas was partially resurfaced after the 2019 weekend following complaints regarding the bumpy surface.
However, F1 did not venture to the Texas track last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning this year’s edition is the first since the 2019 event.
MotoGP recently competed at COTA but riders criticised the bumps at the circuit despite the recent work undertaken, with attempts made in recent days to grind down some of the bumps.
“Although the teams have quite a lot of experience of Austin, this year they face a track that has changed a bit compared to 2019, when we last raced here,” said Pirelli’s Head of F1, Mario Isola.
“Around 40 per cent of the track has been resurfaced but due to COVID-19 restrictions we were not able to send our personnel to analyse the new asphalt, so its characteristics are a question mark for everyone and we will only discover the final effects on tyres and car performance in general when we are there.
“As usual, the tyre nomination was done based on data obtained before the race, with the compounds in the middle of the range well-suited to the circumstances.
“With the championship battle so finely poised as we enter the final few races of the season, it’s clear that every element of strategy will count – as we saw at the last race in Turkey.”
Pirelli has nominated its C2, C3 and C4 tyres for COTA, the same choice as in 2019.
