2025 Australian Grand Prix strategy up in the air as teams wait for gap in the rain
A wet race in Melbourne would see the new Pirelli extreme wet tyre compound in use for the first time.
MELBOURNE – A two-stop strategy is predicted to be fastest for the 2025 Australian Grand Prix despite heavy rain showers occurring at the Albert Park circuit.
The FIA Formula 3 sprint race at the circuit began behind the safety car and did get some laps underway before being red flags under worsening conditions.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) says there is a 50% chance of at least around 3mm of rain per hour until around 2pm. Their forecast says that Melbourne has a "very high chance of showers, becoming less likely in the late afternoon," with "the chance of a thunderstorm."
Pirelli head of motorsport Mario Isola said the conditions present three possible strategy scenarios for teams and driver.
"The first is for a race run entirely in the wet, in which case anything could happen," he said.
"For us, it could be an opportunity to see the new extreme wet tyre in action, modified this year with a slightly different tread design."
"The second is that it’s run entirely in the dry," he said on Saturday night, "in which case, based on the much lower level of graining compared to previous years, that we have seen over the past two days, the one-stop could be the quickest solution featuring the Medium and Hard."
That scenario is unlikely to play out, with the race likely to start on a wet track with clearing conditions until a south-westerly cold front brings a potential gap in the rain for the first ninety minutes of the race.
"Even if the race is run entirely in the dry, we need to consider the possibility that the track surface condition will have been reset because of earlier rain and lower temperatures, conditions that are more likely to lead to graining," said Isola "In this case, the two-stop could be the most popular option, once again featuring the Medium and Hard."
Most likely though, is a two-stop starting in conditions.
"The third scenario is a race run in mixed conditions, starting on a wet or damp track requiring intermediate tyres, prior to a switch to slicks."
"In this case, the drivers could try to extend the Intermediate stint as much as possible before switching to the Hard. The Soft could only come into play if the switch to slicks occurred in the closing stages."
"Whatever happens, it looks like being a fun afternoon!”
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