Team Talk – Sunday afternoon at Suzuka

Pirelli

Dario Marrafuschi, Pirelli Motorsport Director

"The quickest strategy on paper was essentially the one adopted by all the drivers in the race, with Valtteri Bottas the only driver to do something different. No team evidently considered it worthwhile to take a risk on the Soft compound, either at the start or in the final stages, despite it remaining a viable option thanks to the low degradation recorded in the preceding days.

"Albon’s use of the C3 was clearly not driven by strategic considerations, given the high number of pit lane visits he made. During the Grand Prix, the compounds did not restrict the cars’ race pace.

"The Safety Car triggered by Bearman’s off-track moment certainly benefited those who had not attempted the undercut, including race winner Kimi Antonelli. Without the neutralisation, we still believe that the pit stop would have taken place in the laps immediately thereafter.

"Pirelli’s Japanese trip will not end today, as on Tuesday and Wednesday we have scheduled two days of testing at Suzuka for the development of next season’s dry-weather tyres. Assisting us on track, with one car each, will be the Red Bull and Racing Bulls teams."