The Austrian Grand Prix will conclude the weekend at Spielberg, where the Sprint Race was held yesterday: let’s find out what race strategies Pirelli has evaluated.
Last year, Max Verstappen won with a medium/hard/medium strategy. Near the end, the Red Bull driver had enough of a margin over his rivals to afford another stop and mount soft tires to set the fastest lap.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari SF-24 cars finished second and fourth, respectively. During the race, they took advantage of the Virtual Safety Car for a free stop, managing to slot in between Sergio Pérez (who finished third).
Austria race strategies: which is the fastest?
We will most likely expect a race very similar to last year. The only difference? The gap with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull will not be as wide.
Pirelli suggests three possible strategies for the 2024 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, all with two stops. The first is the fastest option: hard/medium/hard, with two pit stops between laps 18-24 and 45-52. The second is the alternative medium/hard/hard, anticipating the first stop at laps 16-21 and the second at 42-48. The third and final one involves the combination medium/hard/soft to use for the concluding laps.
McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari, Alpine, and Aston Martin all have only one set of C3 (hard), so they should do at least two stints on medium tires. Red Bull should rely on two sets of used hard tires for both drivers.
The least advisable strategy is the medium/hard/soft one, which can only be used in the final stages of the race, as was done last year, to seek the fastest lap.
Source: f1ingenerale
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