MONDAY MORNING DEBRIEF: How Pirelli's attempts to bring strategic variation at Imola worked – but not in the way envisaged

Special ContributorMark Hughes
IMOLA, ITALY - MAY 18: Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Scuderia Ferrari SF-25 leadsIMOLA, ITALY - MAY 18: Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Scuderia Ferrari SF-25 leads Alexander Albon of Thailand driving the (23) Williams FW47 Mercedes on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari on May 18, 2025 in Imola, Italy. (Photo by Lars Baron/LAT Images)

Pirelli’s attempts at bringing some strategic variation at Imola by introducing the new softest compound C6 – combining it with the C5 and C4 – brought some unintended consequences. But ultimately it did work in mixing things up.

The basic idea was that the C6 would be a Qualifying-only tyre and that the combination of the remaining C4 and C5 would still be too soft to make a one-stop feasible in the race. Hence a more interesting two-stop would ensue.