Germany – Race: Synthesis of Strategies

Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) extended his lead in the Formula 1 World Championship by securing a hard-fought victory at the German Grand Prix. The German driver adopted a three-stop strategy, completing one stint on P Zero Yellow soft tires and three longer stints on the P Zero White medium compound.

The championship leader started from the second position on the grid and got an excellent start, taking the lead in the first corner. Many strategies were implemented right from the start, with both Ferraris starting on the medium compound, as well as Jenson Button’s McLaren and Nico Hülkenberg’s Sauber. Starting 11th on the grid, Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) was also one of the seven drivers to start on the medium compound.

The safety car that intervened 36 laps from the end accelerated the second stops for the majority of the drivers, with the last wave arriving at the end of the race. The podium was only decided in the last few laps due to different strategies applied by the drivers. Kimi Räikkönen (Lotus) performed a long intermediate stint in the middle of the race, stopping to fit soft tires just 11 laps from the finish. Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari and Button also completed the race on soft tires. The top 5 share the common point of a three-stop strategy, while Button is the best-placed driver with two pit stops, in sixth position.

Paul Hembery, Director of Pirelli Motorsport: « We had all the ingredients of a brilliantly strategic race right from the start, with some drivers starting on the medium tire to stay longer on track in their first stint than the cars that started on softs. For many teams, it was almost like a qualifying tire, offering an interesting tactical edge. The overall performance and durability of our tires were in line with our forecasts, while thermal degradation was perhaps a little higher than expected yesterday due to the high track temperature. Wear, however, was at the expected level. It would certainly have been possible to complete the race with two stops, as demonstrated by many competitors. That said, the intervention of the safety car slightly altered things. Finally, and importantly, I want to thank our team from the Izmit factory in Turkey, who worked tirelessly after Silverstone to produce the required number of rear tires, and our logistics team who ensured the tires were delivered on time by Tuesday. It was a great team effort, for which I want to thank everyone. »

The best times of the day by compound:

– Tendres: Alonso en 1:33;468 devant Räikkönen en 1:33.767 et Bottas en 1:33.972

– Mediums: Hamilton en 1:34.156 devant Vettel en 1:34.164 et Grosjean en 1:34.576

Longest stint in the race:

– Tendres: 13 tours par Jenson Button (McLaren) et Romain Grosjean (Lotus)

– Mediums: 36 tours par Paul Di Resta (Force India) et Sergio Pérez (McLaren)

[From the official press release published by Pirelli]

To get a better understanding of this graph, you can use the FIA lap-by-lap chart by clicking here.