Australia – Race: Strategy Summary

Kimi Räikkönen (Lotus) won the 2013 Australian Grand Prix thanks to a two-stop strategy, starting on P Zero Red Super Soft tires and completing two stints on the P Zero White Medium compound. A tire strategy that gave him a decisive advantage over his competitors, as the rest of the top 6 opted for a three-stop tactic.

Only four drivers started on medium tires: Adrian Sutil (Force India), Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), Sergio Perez (McLaren), and Pastor Maldonado (Williams).

**Paul Hembery, Director of Pirelli Motorsport:** « We made the boldly voluntary decision to come here with supersoft tires to spice up and add action. We believe we did a very good job on this front, with a variety of two or three-stop strategies as expected and seven different leaders. Kimi Räikkönen and Lotus perfectly understood the tires, making a two-stop strategy work where many rivals couldn’t. This is a fine demonstration of tire management. Although they were often separated during the race, Räikkönen and Lotus were competing for the victory against Fernando Alonso and Ferrari (on a three-stop sprint « strategy ») during the second half of the race. Watching these different approaches unfold at the end was an important part of the strategic intrigue, leading to a spectacular finish and the presence of three very deserving world champions on the podium. It should also be noted that Räikkönen set the fastest lap in the race on the 56th lap, the penultimate lap, on medium tires that had 22 laps of life. We are pleased with the performance and durability of both compounds, especially since the temperatures were very low, causing graining. The conditions next weekend in Malaysia will be very different »!

The best times of the day by compound:

– Super Tendre: Bianchi en 1:30.544 devant Sutil en 1:30.710 et Ricciardo en 1:30.881

– Medium: Räikkönen en 1:29.274 devant Vergne en 1:29.498 et Alonso en 1:29.560

Longest stint in race:

– Super Tendres: 14 tours par Rosberg (Mercedes)

– Mediums: 30 tours par Gutiérrez (Sauber)

Truth Barometer: The winning strategy of two anticipated stops predicted by Pirelli proved correct. We had predicted first stops on Super Softs to switch to Mediums on lap 14, then a second stop for Mediums on lap 36. Räikkönen followed this tactic to the letter, stopping first on the 9th lap and extending his second stint until the 34th lap.

[From the official press release published by Pirelli]

To better understand this chart, you can use our pit stop summary as well as the FIA’s lap-by-lap analysis by clicking here.