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KEY MOMENTS
* Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was the winner, with two tyre changes, of a
dramatic British Grand Prix that was paused by a red flag shortly after the
start following contact between Hamilton and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.
Hamilton started on P Zero Yellow medium C2, changed to another set of
mediums during the red flag period after lap two, and then finished the race
on the P Zero White hard C1. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who finished second,
led until the final laps before being overhauled by Hamilton who was
fighting back from a 10-second penalty.
* The same basic strategy was used by all the drivers apart from
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (who made an extra stop following a puncture) and
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.
* Under the red flag rules, teams are allowed to change tyres and repair
damage. In total, 13 drivers changed tyres (including Hamilton): but they
just swapped the mediums they had originally started the race on for a fresh
set of the same compound.
* The sprint qualifying format for the British Grand Prix meant that drivers
had a free choice of tyres for the start. They all chose to start on the
medium C2 tyre, with Perez – who started from the pit lane – being the only
car to start on the hard C1.
* Temperatures remain high throughout the race, with 32 degrees centigrade
ambient and 49 degrees on track. Despite these challenging conditions, the
tyres performed well..
HOW EACH TYRE PERFORMED
HARD C1: This compound was consistent throughout even the longest runs,
making it a crucial element of the strategy for the second stint after the
re-start. A number of drivers completed up to 33 laps on this tyre.
MEDIUM C2: All the drivers started on this (apart from Perez). Both Hamilton
and Leclerc used it for more than 25 laps. Even though this is a softer
compound, making it more susceptible to blistering, this did not affect the
performance in any way.
SOFT C3: Too aggressive for long runs in today’s hot conditions, but used by
Perez and Gasly for their final stints. Perez set fastest lap with it, but
as he finished outside the top 10 does not score an extra championship
point.
MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING
“The race strategy was influenced by the new tyre rules in place for sprint
qualifying races, which allow all the drivers a free choice of tyres at the
start so that they can follow the theoretically fastest run plans. That’s
exactly what they did today, with the vast majority moving from the medium
to hard. We were then treated to a fantastic duel between two of the top
drivers in the sport, who managed their tyres perfectly to deliver a
thrilling battle to the end. Now we remain at Silverstone to focus on our
next task: continuing the 2022 18-inch test programme, which we will be
doing on Tuesday and Wednesday with Aston Martin, Haas and Red Bull.” |
