The weekend that is about to begin at the Baku circuit is one in which technical and strategic variables present far fewer certainties than usual. The change in format, which was officially announced last Tuesday, has effectively halved the time available for free practice and disrupted the program for managing the twelve sets of tires that each driver will have at their disposal for the entire Azerbaijan weekend. There aren’t actually many possible strategies because the use of ten sets seems to follow a mandatory path.
In FP1, the use of one set of mediums and one set of softs is planned, while in today’s qualifying session, the traditional three sets of “red” tires will be used. In Saturday morning’s qualifying sessions, tire use is regulated, with one set of mediums for both SQ1 and SQ2 (the new acronyms that identify the first and second Saturday morning qualifying sessions) and a set of softs for SQ3.
Assuming that the two sets of hards will be designated for the race (traditionally there are two pit stops in Baku), the question remains regarding the choices that will be made for the Saturday afternoon sprint race.
If the qualifying sessions are completed without errors that result in an additional set being used, the drivers who have completed the Q3 and SQ3 sessions should have one final set of softs and one set of mediums available to them. Given the characteristics of Baku, choosing the softest compound (at risk of graining) seems risky, so the most logical option appears to be to start the sprint race on the last set of new mediums, but it is not excluded that some drivers may choose to conserve it for the Grand Prix by relying on one of the two sets used in the morning qualifiers.
Less data, more risks
The strategists will also have less data than usual at their disposal, as there will be no opportunity to run race simulations. “Considering that we only have the sixty minutes of free practice in the FP1 session at our disposal,” commented Mercedes Sporting Director Ron Meadows, “it will be very difficult for engineers and drivers to find the right setup compromise that is valid for both qualifying and the fully loaded car. We will have to maximize the number of laps in FP1, and we do not have any plans to make adjustments to the setup, as it would cost too much time. It will be a new way of working for all teams.”
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Track activity in the FP1 session will be greater than usual, and the nightmare for teams and drivers is that there could be incidents. “I do not expect a free practice session as we are used to seeing,” Ron Meadows explained. “I believe that the on-track action will be much more intense, and the drivers will be more involved in completing a fast working program. These are conditions that could trigger track incidents.” – he pointed out.
In addition to the nightmare of anyone who has to deal with damage to the car, the prospect of a red flag would not be a good one for anyone, considering that the clock continues to tick during free practice interruptions. And in this case, part of the work program will be lost without the possibility of recovery.
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