Rain could disrupt strategies on Sunday
Hoped for or feared this Sunday by all the teams, the rain could significantly alter the grip at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday. On a dry track, however, the best strategy is to stop only once according to Pirelli.
The qualifying sessions for the Austrian Grand Prix were eventful, particularly in Q1 where, on a drying track, several drivers (including Kimi Räikkönen and Sergio Perez) were caught out by traffic and the constantly improving track. Paul Hembery, head of competition at Pirelli, praised the performance of the twenty drivers: « Overall, all the drivers judged the available grip incredibly well and extracted the maximum from their tires under challenging circumstances, with the fastest times coming only at the end of each session ».
Rain could once again make an appearance on Sunday at the Red Bull Ring, which would naturally add some spice to the race. “The uncertainty should continue tomorrow: we are expecting uncertain weather and a significant number of penalized drivers on the grid,” confirms Paul Hembery. The intermediate tires, like the super soft tires, could therefore be difficult to heat up in the event of light rain or a drying track.
If, however, the race takes place on a dry track, the best strategy is to make only one pit stop, as revealed by Paul Hembery: On paper, the fastest strategy for a 71-lap race is to make two stops (starting on super softs, changing to super softs on lap 31, softs on lap 60). However, due to traffic, the most likely scenario is a one-stop strategy: starting on super softs and changing to softs on lap 25.
