“The big challenge here seems to be tire management”: Red Bull advisor predicts F1 Spanish GP to be a 2 or 3 pit stop race

Dr. Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing's advisor, mentioned that tire management will be a hard task during the 2023 F1 Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, focusing on the softer tire compounds.

The circuit features a lot of fast-paced left and right turns, which is quite aggressive on the tires. Mentioning the same, the cars will carry massive loads of fuel during the race, which won't make it any easier for the tires. Hence, Marko feels that it will be quite a job to do in Barcelona.

"Getting these tyres halfway over the distance is the most difficult task, especially with the soft [tires]. The big challenge here seems to be tire management," Marko said.

It has been mentioned before that tire management during the Spanish Grand Prix is going to be a difficult task for the drivers. With the removal of the final chicane on the track, yet another fast-paced corner is added, turning the final turn much quicker as well. This will only add to the load that the tires will be able to carry.

Tires can only provide grip up to a certain level, and it depends on what compound tires are provided by Pirelli to the teams. They decide that according to the circuits. For the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, they have gone with almost the hardest tire compounds; C1, C2, and C3. C3 being the softest, is the one that worries Marko the most.

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Red Bull advisor feels multiple pit stops are incoming for the F1 Spanish GP

Since the tire degradation has been so bad on the cars, talking about Max Verstappen's analysis on his Red Bull, Dr. Marko feels that there will be a lot of pitstops during the race because drivers would be struggling for grip during the length of the Grand Prix. He also mentioned that it is the front-left tire that is suffering the most, along with the rears.

"I just heard Max's analysis. It's not easy, a different tire is put under strain in every corner. Of course, the load on the front left is the greatest, but the rear tires are also put under extreme stress," Marko said.

Other than the tire wear, the circuit looks pretty much perfect for Red Bull as Verstappen was able to top both the Friday practice sessions. The aerodynamics of the RB19 seem to suit the car very well.