Spielberg,
04
July
2020
|
17:15
Europe/Amsterdam

2020 Austrian Grand Prix - Qualifying

Possible race strategies

The fastest strategy for the 71-lap Austrian Grand Prix is a one-stopper. The quickest way is to start on the P Zero red soft tyre for 24 to 28 laps, before switching to the P Zero White hard until the flag. Alternatively, start on the P Zero Yellow medium tyre for 27 to 32 laps, before finishing the race on hard. These two strategies have a more or less identical total race time, but the latter offers slightly more flexibility.
The second-quickest strategy is to start on the soft for 30 to 34 laps, then go on medium to the end.
A two-stop strategy is definitely slower, but it would go like this: two stints on the soft tyre of 16 to 18 laps each, then finish the race on either the medium or the hard compound (depending on how things were looking at that point).

FOCUS ON

  • Unity. Bottas took pole (with Mercedes going fastest in all the free practice sessions as well) to claim a unique rainbow Pirelli Pole Position Award tyre: symbolising the fight against Covid-19 and promotion of inclusivity that is a key message of Formula 1.
  • Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver will be the only driver in the top 10 to start on the medium tyres, having used them to set his fastest time in Q2. Last year’s Austrian Grand Prix winner will start from third on the grid.
  • Strategy. The midfield in particular is very close (the Red Bull of Alex Albon in P5 and the Racing Point of Sergio Perez in P6 actually set identical times in Q3). With such a short lap and just one pit stop expected, the timing of that stop will be even more crucial than usual when it comes to gaining track position.
  • Sebastian Vettel. Starting from P11, Vettel’s Ferrari will be the highest-placed car with a free choice of tyres, handing him the opportunity to do something quite different from his immediate rivals.

MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING

“Bottas’s pole position time set the all-time track record at the Red Bull Ring today, underlining that the cars have evolved while this year’s P Zero tyre range stays the same as 2019. The most interesting strategic moment from qualifying was Verstappen’s decision to start the race on the medium tyre, which should allow him to plan a more flexible strategy – with potentially a longer first stint than his rivals. This could be crucial to the race outcome. As expected with a short lap and tightly-matched field, we saw mostly the soft tyre used from start to finish of qualifying. Each team needed to be sure to get the most out of their cars, given how close the margins were. But in the race tomorrow, all three compounds should have an important role to play.”

FREE PRACTICE 3 – TOP 3 TIMES
DRIVER TIME COMPOUND
Hamilton 1m04.130s SOFT C4 NEW
Bottas 1m04.277s SOFT C4 NEW
Verstappen 1m04.413s SOFT C4 NEW
QUALIFYING TOP 10
DRIVER TIME COMPOUND
Bottas 1m02.939s SOFT C4 NEW
Hamilton 1m02.951s SOFT C4 NEW
Verstappen 1m03.477s SOFT C4 NEW
Norris 1m03.626s SOFT C4 NEW
Albon 1m03.868s SOFT C4 NEW
Perez 1m03.868s SOFT C4 NEW
Leclerc 1m03.923s SOFT C4 NEW
Sainz 1m03.971s SOFT C4 USED
Stroll 1m04.029s SOFT C4 NEW
Ricciardo 1m04.239s SOFT C4 NEW
BEST TIME BY COMPOUND SO FAR
COMPOUND DRIVER TIME
HARD C2 Sainz 1m05.864s
MEDIUM C3 Verstappen 1m04.000s
SOFT C4 Bottas 1m02.939s