Lewis Hamilton has a worse grid position, but the better tire in terms of racing strategy. The medium tire gives Mercedes more flexibility in the racing strategy because it will last longer in the first stint. Max Verstappen was annoyed about his brakes in Q2 because now he is forcing to start the most important race of the year on soft tires.
At the strategy meeting, Red Bull was still divided. “It was a 50/50 decision. We wanted to start on the medium tire because it is a bit more robust, but we are not overly worried that we have to use the softer tire,” said team principal Christian Horner. Max Verstappen’s long run on Pirelli’s softest tire gives reason to hope that it will last 14 to 18 laps, depending on the driving style. Horner hopes: “The position on the track could be more important.”
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection from Puma!
Ferrari, Alpine and McLaren in the same boat
Max Verstappen’s mistake could also turn out to be a stroke of luck for a completely different reason. The Red Bull drivers are not alone with their forced tire choices. Ferrari, Alpine and McLaren have voluntarily opted for the soft compound: “Because we believe that the soft tire will give us the faster race,” explains Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto. “We would have made the Q2 on the medium tire, but we made a conscious decision to go for the softer tyres.”
Ferrari found in the racing simulations on Friday that the soft tire lasts longer than expected. “That gives us the freedom to drive with one or two stops. I think Verstappen is not in a bad situation” – said the Ferrari boss. This is also how Alpine operations manager Alan Permane sees it. “We committed ourselves to the soft tire from the start. The disadvantage to the medium tire is too small to justify the risk for us to try it on medium tires in Q2.”
Alpine wants to hold out until lap 18
Permane refers to Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris, who first tried the mediums, but then discovered that it was not enough. Gasly was eliminated. Norris made it into Q3 with the soft. And now he’s not that unhappy because it gives him an advantage at the start of the duel with Hamilton.
Permane believes that you can get to lap 18 with the soft tire. “If we make it by then, a stop is also possible.” This is good news for Verstappen. Ferrari, Alpine and McLaren will be making their pit stops at a similar time, so don’t get in the way. Only the Mercedes drivers and Yuki Tsunoda start in the top ten on medium tires. Tsunoda will quickly make way. This means that Hamilton only has Valtteri Bottas as to help him.
Leave a Reply