Scuderia Ferrari did not decide to switch to the soft compound in the final startes of Q2 for the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix qualifying at the Red Bull Ring. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, despite being out of the top-10, used only the medium tires to be able to set a race on a one-stop strategy tomorrow, but unfortunately did not make the cut, unlike the Williams of George Russell, for example, who managed a great lap with medium tires and made it to Q3. The Maranello team had taken into account the possible elimination in Q2, but the soft tire in the race is destined to last only a few laps and for this reason the Italian side has only focused on yellow band tires, as Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc are ready to recover tomorrow in the race.
Mario Isola, head of Pirelli Motorsport, defended the strategic choice of the Maranello team aimed at rewarding the race by sacrificing the qualifying session: “With these temperatures, more than 50 ° on the asphalt, the soft tires struggle on long runs in view of tomorrow’s race. With three DRS zones that allow you to overtake, you probably want to start with the right tire because on paper the strategy of a stop starting with the medium and then using the hard is feasible. Ferrari has certainly thought about this choice very carefully. They did it with both drivers, so they are definitely convinced of it. The decision to bring the C5 here was aimed at creating unpredictability. It was like that in qualifying, we’ll see later in the race.” – Mario Isola concluded.
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