Mercedes with interesting tyre strategy at Baku
Following the first day of running, Mercedes are set to follow a different run plan compared to its direct rivals, Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren, having only saved a single set of hard tyres for the remainder of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
With the Baku circuit being a street circuit, it is not surprising that the Milan-based tyre manufacturer has elected to bring the three softest dry compounds in the range, namely the C3 as Hard, the C4 as Medium and the C5 as Soft.
Although Friday's running on the Baku street track was slightly limited, with three red flag periods interrupting the opening practice session, there were clear lessons to take.
The fact that only Alpine in FP1 and Mercedes in FP2 used a set of Hards with each of their drivers, meaning that the other eight teams saved all theirs for the rest of the weekend, demonstrates that the C3 is the tyre best suited for the race.
It was interesting to see the Mercedes drivers only save a single set of white-walled tyres which means that the Brackley-based outfit is confident that they will only need one set of hards for the race.
As expected, the track evolution was very significant as the cars - F2 as well as F1 - put in the laps. Therefore, when looking at the times one has to also take this parameter into consideration.
Commenting on the opening day at Baku, Pirelli's chief engineer Simona Berra noted that teams and drivers had to get used to the track conditions, with the grip level having been lower than is previous seasons.
“The two hours of practice were rather difficult to interpret, especially because of the track condition. We had already seen after taking track surface measurements on Wednesday that the grip level was lower than last year’s and also differed from one section of track to another and that was confirmed today once the cars started running.
"Lap times dropped very quickly, but they are still a way off those recorded in last year’s one and only free practice session, when Baku hosted the first Sprint format weekend of 2023, but also slower than those from earlier simulations. Why? It’s impossible to give a definitive answer but this may have been down to the fact the asphalt was not treated as it had been last year, as could be seen by the amount of dirt kicked up by the cars.
At the Italian Grand Prix, drivers had to look after their tyres, with graining having caused all sorts of issues during the 53-lap race. While graining posed a challenge yesterday at Baku, Berra has noted that with the track conditions set to improve, it should disappear for the rest of the weekend.
“We noticed some graining on the tyres over a long run, but not to a particularly high degree and we believe that, as the track rubbers in, its incidence will decrease. In terms of strategy, this is usually a race run in two parts, featuring the Medium and the Hard tyres, while the Soft is clearly a qualifying tyre.
"Therefore, that explains why eight of the ten teams kept both their sets of Hards, not so much because they are considering a two-stop, but to cover any eventual neutralisation and thus make the most of the tyre that’s the most competitive over a long distance," concluded Berra.
