2019 [R09] Austrian Grand Prix, Spielberg, 28-30 June

[zibby43]

HAM up on VET almost 8 tenths on the Hard tire.

[search]

HAM up on VET almost 8 tenths on the Hard tire.

yes, but Vettel started his longrun on hards while Hamilton did 15 laps on the softs before (thereby burning ~0.75s of fuel load). So you end up with almost equal pace.

[zibby43]

HAM up on VET almost 8 tenths on the Hard tire.

yes, but Vettel started his longrun on hards while Hamilton did 15 laps on the softs before (thereby burning ~0.75s of fuel load). So you end up with almost equal pace.

We'd have to assume VET started with a full tank then, as he didn't do a second stint, like HAM, did he?

[Just_a_fan]

Presumably the top end will try to do Q2 on the medium in order to start on it and then move to the hard to finish the race. Soft times only really of interest for Q3.

[zibby43]

Presumably the top end will try to do Q2 on the medium in order to start on it and then move to the hard to finish the race. Soft times only really of interest for Q3.

Definitely the play, especially with the scorching temps.

Ferrari is substantially more competitive here, and Merc doesn't look quite as strong as they did in France.

[TAG]

been running around most of the day, any news on Botta's health after the hit he took? Any question as to his fitness for tomorrow?

[izzy]

been running around most of the day, any news on Botta's health after the hit he took? Any question as to his fitness for tomorrow?

He says he's fine: "It was pretty big hit for me in second practice but I’m all okay with no pain.

[henry]

I think this will be the most testing race for ES efficiency. If a team has better ES efficiency they will be able to run higher power modes for longer v

[search]

HAM up on VET almost 8 tenths on the Hard tire.

yes, but Vettel started his longrun on hards while Hamilton did 15 laps on the softs before (thereby burning ~0.75s of fuel load). So you end up with almost equal pace.

We'd have to assume VET started with a full tank then, as he didn't do a second stint, like HAM, did he?

yeah, usually they do. More or less at least

[Just_a_fan]

Ferrari is substantially more competitive here, and Merc doesn't look quite as strong as they did in France.

Are you sure? Hamilton was several tenths quicker than Vettel on hards, and not dissimilar to Leclerc on the soft. That suggests that a medium-hard strategy favours Mercedes.

[SmallSoldier]

Ferrari is substantially more competitive here, and Merc doesn't look quite as strong as they did in France.

Are you sure? Hamilton was several tenths quicker than Vettel on hards, and not dissimilar to Leclerc on the soft. That suggests that a medium-hard strategy favours Mercedes.

I’m not sure if the teams will try to go with Mediums for Qualy... The lap is a very short one, therefore the difference in times will be closer and could be too much risk... If the difference between compounds is at 7 tenths, that’s not a very safe margin


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[dans79]

Ferrari is substantially more competitive here, and Merc doesn't look quite as strong as they did in France.

Are you sure? Hamilton was several tenths quicker than Vettel on hards, and not dissimilar to Leclerc on the soft. That suggests that a medium-hard strategy favours Mercedes.

I’m not sure if the teams will try to go with Mediums for Qualy... The lap is a very short one, therefore the difference in times will be closer and could be too much risk... If the difference between compounds is at 7 tenths, that’s not a very safe margin


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Look at Lewis sitting in fourth, his time was set on hards. I would be shocked if Mercedes doesn't try and make it through Q2 on mediums.

[SmallSoldier]

If we look at both FP1 and FP2, Hamilton’s best time was 1:04.838 (on Softs), while Vettel did 1:04.982 (on mediums)... Hamilton’s time was the best of Friday... Beyond the difference between Mercedes and Ferrari, what the top teams will need to account for is the possibility of not making Q3.

In that regard, Haas did a time of 1:05.701 (0.863 from Hamilton’s time) and Alfa Romeo did 1:05.728 (0.890 from Hamilton’s time)... If the delta between the Softs and Mediums is 0.7 seconds, that seems too much for comfort (we should probably also consider that while Mercedes/Ferrari/Red Bull don’t probably use “Party Mode” in Q2, the midfield teams will probably do it for a chance to make it into Q3 (that’s probably why we don’t see as much improvement from Q2 to Q3 from the Midfield teams compared to the top 3).

Can they pull it off? I’m sure... But they could be putting in a situation in which if they don’t nail their first run in Mediums, they may be bumped out of Q3... Seems like a lot of risk for not a lot of reward if Ferrari and Red Bull are in the same boat.


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[zibby43]

Ferrari is substantially more competitive here, and Merc doesn't look quite as strong as they did in France.

Are you sure? Hamilton was several tenths quicker than Vettel on hards, and not dissimilar to Leclerc on the soft. That suggests that a medium-hard strategy favours Mercedes.

In terms of race pace, Mercedes still has an advantage (particularly on the Hard, as you indicated), but it's not as big as the one in France (as expected, given the nature of the circuit). The Medium is somewhat of an unknown due to Bottas' shunt.

Where things are tight (based on the FP sessions) is one-lap pace. Mercedes was running their maximum cooling configuration (all vents next to the cockpit area open/uncovered) in free practice, which, according to the Merc engineers (via AMuS) causes the car to hemorrhage enough downforce to cost them about 5 tenths of a sec per lap. I know they have some leeway for qualifying.

I don't know configurable Ferrari's cooling is or how cautious they were in FP1/FP2. I also don't know how much more Merc can turn up the wick in Q3 to try to close up their straightline speed deficit.

[ringo]

What i observed over the years, is that the front runners are best suited starting on the faster tyre. The slower tyre usually looks good on paper considering the tyre life, but it usually never materializes when you cannot go as fast as possible when the pack is bunched close together.
I would suggest Mercedes resist the temptation to qualify q2 with the medium. Just stick to the conventional plan.
Faster soft tyre then go on the mediums to the end.