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POSSIBLE RACE STRATEGIES
With the high temperatures and high abrasion at COTA, a two-stopper looks
optimal tomorrow, especially as the warm weather is expected to remain for
the race.
The exact strategy that each driver selects will also obviously depend on
the tyres that they have left in their individual allocations, but the
fastest way on paper to tackle the 56-lap race involves one stint on the P
Zero Red soft or P Zero Yellow medium and two on the P Zero White hard.
These two options appear to be very close.
Managing the wear and degradation on the soft tyre is going to be crucial,
so those wanting to try a one-stop strategy will only be able to do this
using medium and hard, but this appears not to be easy to achieve.
As can be expected at this stage of the season, there are a few drivers
starting out of position due to engine change penalties: they might be
tempted to fit the hard tyre at the start and run a long first stint to gain
track position. However, COTA is a circuit with several overtaking
opportunities and a reasonably small pit lane time loss, so the advantage of
a one-stop strategy could be slightly less than usual. |
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FOCUS ON:
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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen claimed pole position on the soft tyre but he
will start the race tomorrow on the medium tyre, with which he set his
fastest time in Q2. All the drivers used only the soft in Q1, saving the
mediums for later.
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Including Hamilton, a total of eight drivers got through Q2 on the medium
tyre, meaning that this will be the compound on which they start the race
tomorrow. Only Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda set
their best Q2 times on the soft, starting from fifth (considering a
five-position grid penalty for Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas) and 10th on
the grid respectively.
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Temperatures remained high today, with qualifying (which started at 4pm
local time, two hours later than the race start at 2pm) beginning in 32
degrees centigrade ambient and 36 degrees on track. During the qualifying
hour there were some gusts of wind, affecting aerodynamic balance, with
gathering rain clouds and slight drizzle in the closing seconds. Possible
showers could arrive during the night but the weather is expected to be
similar or slightly warmer tomorrow, with the race beginning earlier in the
afternoon.
MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING
“The medium tyre was favoured by the majority of the top 10 on the grid, as
starting on this compound allows more flexibility in terms of strategy.
Managing the softs to avoid overheating – especially at the rear – is
crucial in these warm conditions, and this makes the medium and the hard the
key choices for the race. A two-stop strategy is the more likely, with the
high speeds and abrasive surfaces here taking a lot out of the tyres. At the
same time the relatively low pit stop time loss and number of overtaking
opportunities mitigate the advantages of a one-stopper. There are a number
of different two-stoppers that are quite closely matched, depending on the
race circumstances, so this looks set to be an intense strategic battle.” |
