31 May 2016

Race 6 – 78 Laps – 3.337km per lap – 260.286km race distance – very low tyre wear

Monaco GP F1 Strategy Report Podcast – featuring Rob James from the Box of Neutrals podcast.

Monaco is the most prestigious, glamorous and unique event on the Formula 1 calendar and the challenging street track produced another thrilling grand prix on Sunday. The race featured so many different elements and incidents, but Lewis Hamilton emerged from it all to claim his first win of 2016.

Strategy once again played a crucial part in the race. Conditions were ideal for producing a stunning spectacle, starting in very wet conditions but gradually drying out as things progressed. Here are all of the main strategy stories from the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix:

Red Bull takes a risk

Many were expecting rain at some point on Sunday but Red Bull Racing still opted to take a risk in qualifying and attempt to get Daniel Ricciardo through to Q3 on the super-soft tyre, meaning he would start on that compound if things remained dry.

Red Bull left it late fitting the red-marked tyre to his car in Q2, meaning no one was able to copy that strategy, but it proved to work and Ricciardo easily progressed through to the top 10 shoot-out. Obviously the rain arrived in time for the race start, making the decision redundant, but what could have happened if things were dry?

It is hard to really predict how the race could have panned out. A two-stop race was theoretically fastest but traffic problems would have cost drivers time, so a one-stop was always going to be the preferred option.

The super-soft tyre showed good performance and durability during practice, as the middle compound of the three taken to Monaco by Pirelli. Running a longer first stint if things had remained dry, having started from pole position, would have helped Ricciardo stay out of traffic and given him an advantage when the ultra-softs started to go off.

With Monaco being so difficult to overtake on as well, it could have helped him stay out front for longer. But then, if he had lost a few positions early on while others were on ultra-softs and then gone to the new purple-marked compound for his final stint, he could have struggled to get past the cars on the slower tyres.

Vettel makes an early move

Kevin Magnussen was the first to move onto the intermediate tyres early on in the race, just as his team-mate crashed. Sebastian Vettel was the first front-runner to make the switch and initially times were quite comparable, but the inters soon found more grip and speed.

The problem was, the early stoppers found themselves in slower traffic and that severely impacted their races – Vettel got stuck behind Felipe Massa, Jenson Button struggled to get past Pascal Werhlein. So Rosberg and leader Ricciardo actually benefitted in that respect, with their late stops, saving them from losing ground.

Mercedes keep Hamilton out

This was quite a brave decision. The move over from intermediates to dry tyres is a very tricky one to get right and going too early, especially in Monaco, can prove costly. But when Marcus Ericsson and a few other drivers dived into the pits and moved onto slicks, their times soon proved it was the right moment.

Mercedes took a risk keeping Hamilton out for so long on the full wets but the degradation of the tyres and wear of the grooves meant he was able to keep up a decent pace. Ricciardo soon caught up to the W07 but of course, then Mercedes rolled the dice and pitted him for dry tyres. Hamilton undercut Riccardo slightly but he went off on his out-lap, which cost him time.

Fortunately for Hamilton, Red Bull were not ready with Ricciardo’s super-soft tyres and so he ended up emerging behind the Mercedes. Had that not been the case, the small off would have been a big help to Ricciardo snatching the lead back. It was interesting to see so many drivers going for different compounds and that was also the case at the front.

Hamilton went for the ultra-softs, which had more performance but were not as durable and he struggled initially in the cooler conditions. Ricciardo was on the super-softs and they were less of a risk for getting to the end, but he was stuck behind Hamilton and took a lot out of them before the Silver Arrows’ tyres found the sweet spot late on.

Low tyre wear all round

As always in Monaco, tyre wear was very low and this would have likely saw a one-stop race had things remained dry. Hamilton still went for that strategy due to Mercedes’ risk keeping him out but wear on the full wets and the ultra-softs was impressive, with 31 and 37 laps respectively on each.

Across the board, most of the drivers were able to get long stints out of their wet, inter and slick tyres. The soft compound proved to be strong initially for those who switched to it from inters and it held up well, but the ultra-soft and super-soft-shod cars had the advantage once the temperatures rose and the tyres rubbered in.

Hamilton soldiered on with his tyres in the final laps but Ricciardo struggled even more, probably from his early attacking laps in the stints and being stuck behind the Mercedes for so long. The slow pitstop cost him dearly and had it not happened, he would have likely gone on to take victory, especially as he looked to have far superior pace early on in the dry part of the race.

Hardest tyre gets some use

Unlike previous rounds, the hardest tyre in the range – the soft – got some use during the race and held up well pace-wise against the ultra-soft and super-soft, helped by the conditions, temperatures and the track evolution. Sergio Perez went for the alternative strategy and did a great job to finish third, with Vettel and Nico Hulkenberg also doing the same and performing well in the final laps. The latter was even able to nab sixth from Rosberg on the line.

Jack Leslie @JackLeslieF1

Longest Stints

Soft: Perez (48 laps)
Supersoft: Button (47 laps)
Ultrasoft: Rosberg, Hamilton (47 laps)
Intermediate: Nasr (24 laps)
Wet: Wehrlein, Hamilton (31 laps)

Most Stops

Magnussen, Haryanto, Nasr, Bottas, Ericsson (3 – including drive-throughs)

All the Data

Thanks to Pirelli Motorsport for the detailed infographics

Stints by Driver

31 May 2016

6ª Etapa – 78 Voltas – 3.337km por volta – 260.286km distância total – desgaste muito baixo de pneus

Monaco GP F1 Strategy Report Podcast – featuring Rob James from the Box of Neutrals podcast.

Mônaco é sem sombra de dúvidas o evento mais prestigiado e glamouroso evento no calendário da F1 e sua desafiadora pista de rua proporcionou mais uma corrida sensacional com diversas nuâncias, incidentes e Lewis Hamilton cruzou a linha de chegada em primeiro após as 78 voltas.

A estratégia foi mais uma vez uma parte essencial da corrida e as condições climáticas produziram um espetáculo, começando com uma pista extremamente molhada e gradualmente chegando aos traçados secos.

Red Bull arisca

Muitos já esperavam um domingo chuvoso no horário da corrida, mesmo assim, a RBR ainda optou por tentar passar pelo Q2 com pneus super macios calçando o carro de Daniel Ricciardo, com o objetivo de também tê-los na largada do GP.

A equipe saiu tarde para a pista, evitando que alguém copiasse sua estratégia, e o australiano teve vida fácil para se classificar com os pneus vermelhos. O clima monegasco acabou jogando um balde de água fria nos planos da Red Bull, mas o que poderia ter acontecido se a corrida tivesse sido no seco?

Obviamente é complicado imaginar o que poderia ter acontecido. A estratégia de duas paradas era considerada como a opção mais rápida, entretanto, problemas com o tráfego poderiam tornar a opção de apenas uma parada mais viável.

Os pneus vermelhos apresentaram boa performance e durabilidade durante a sexta-feira, portanto, largar da pole e partir para um stint mais longo poderia ter ajudado Ricciardo a evitar o trânsito e ainda ter uma grande vantagem quando os ultra macios começassem a acabar.

Com toda a dificuldade de ultrapassar nas ruas do principado, ficar mais tempo na pista poderia representar uma grande vantagem. Contudo, se perdesse posições e voltasse com os pneus mais rápidos, seria extremamente complicado escalar o pelotão, que estaria com os compostos mais lentos.

Vettel tenta dar o pulo do gato

Kevin Magnussen foi o primeiro a apostar na mudança para os Intermediários logo no começo da prova, justo quando seu companheiro de equipe abandonou a prova. Sebastian Vettel foi o primeiro dos ponteiros a tentar imitá-lo. Os tempos foram bem parelhos nas primeiras voltas mas os pneus verdes rapidamente acharam mais aderência e velocidade.

Entretanto, os pilotos que pararam mais cedo acabaram ficando presos atrás de pilotos mais lentos, prejudicando gravemente suas corridas. Vettel ficou preso atrás de Felipe Massa e Jenson Button encontrou dificuldades para superar Pascal Werhlein. Com isso, Rosberg e Ricciardo se beneficiaram com as paradas tardias, evitando uma perda de tempo extra.

Mercedes estica o Stint de Hamilton

A decisão da equipe alemã foi muito corajosa. A transferência de pneus de chuva para slicks sempre é muito complicada e quando feita muito cedo, especialmente em Mônaco, pode custar caro. Após Marcus Ericsson e alguns outros pilotos arriscarem a mudança, as condições de pista se mostraram perfeitas para a Mercedes completar a manobra.

A equipe arriscou em deixar Hamilton na pista com pneus azuis por tanto tempo, entretanto, o desgaste dos pneus e das ranhuras auxiliaram-no a manter um ritmo de corrida razoável. Ricciardo logo alcançou o W07, a Mercedes arriscou a mudança para os slicks e Hamilton conseguiu um pequeno undercut em Ricciardo, vantagem essa que foi jogada pela janela graças a um erro do inglês na volta subsequente.

Para a sorte do tricampeão, a RBR não estava preparada para o pit-stop do australiano, resultando na manutenção da liderança de Hamilton. Não fosse o erro crasso da equipe austríaca, Ricciardo teria recuperado a liderança. Mônaco proporcionou um leque enorme de estratégias e isso não foi diferente no pelotão dianteiro.

Hamilton colocou os ultra macios, que tinham mais performance mas não duravam tanto e demoravam para aquecer, especialmente com o traçado esfriado por conta da chuva. Já Ricciardo calçou super macios, com a garantia de que chegaria ao final do GP sem sustos. Contudo, o australiano ficou preso atrás da Mercedes e judiou de seus pneus em tentativas frustradas de recuperar a liderança, enquanto Hamilton apenas preservava seus ultra macios.

Baixo desgaste de pneus

Como sempre vemos em Mônaco, o desgaste de pneus foi extremamente baixo, cenário perfeito para a tentativa de apenas uma parada caso a pista tivesse continuado seca. Hamilton ainda completou a corrida nessa estratégia devido a aposta da Mercedes de mantê-lo na pista. O desgaste nos pneus azuis e roxos foi inacreditável, com o inglês completando 31 e 37 voltas respectivamente em cada composto.

Em todo pelotão, a maioria dos pilotos conseguiu esticar bem seus stints tanto com pneus de chuva, quanto com slicks. Os macios provaram ser fortes logo após a transição, no entanto, Ultra e super macios recuperaram a vantagem assim que a temperatura subiu e a aderência aumentou.

Hamilton arrastou seus ultra macios até o fim da prova, mas Daniel Ricciardo sofreu ainda mais com os pneus vermelhos devido aos ataques em busca da liderança da prova. O pit-stop longo custo caro, muito provavelmente custou até uma vitória, especialmente considerando a superioridade da RBR em ritmo de corrida no começo da prova.

Composto mais duro também é usado

Ao contrário das corridas anteriores, o composto mais duro do fim de semana foi usado com uma certa frequência e ainda conseguiu competir em pé de igualdade com ultra e super macios, ajudado pela temperatura e pelas condições da pista. Sergio Perez buscou uma estratégia alternativa e conseguiu levar sua Force India a um surpreende pódio, com Vettel e Hulkenberg apostando na mesma estratégia e terminando o GP com muita competitividade.

Texto Original: Jack Leslie @JackLeslieF1 – BR version by Fernando Campos.

Stints mais longos

Macios: Perez – 48 Voltas
Super Macios: Button – 47 Voltas
Ultra Macios: Rosberg / Hamilton – 47 Voltas
Intermediários: Nasr – 24 Voltas
Chuva: Hamilton / Wehrlein – 31 Voltas

Mais paradas

Magnussen, Haryanto, Nasr, Bottas, Ericsson – 3

All the Data

Pirelli Motorsport 

Stints by Driver

Episode 5 of the 2016 Strategy Podcast: by Formula Legend provides insight & analysis of strategic decisions made during the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.

Our host Michael Lamonato is joined by Matt Clayton from Red Bull Australia’s Motorsports site.

For full written report about the strategy plays in this race, and detailed data (including all the stints and tyre choices) click here. All of the previous written reports are here.

All of our previous F1 Strategy Report Podcasts are here.

If you’re into F1 strategy make sure you check out Formula Legend – it’s free for iOS & Android. Contact us on twitter @beermogul.

19 May 2016

Round 5 – 66 Laps – 4.655km per lap – 307.104km race distance – medium tyre wear

Spanish GP F1 Strategy Report Podcast – featuring Matt Clayton from Red Bull Australia’s Motorsports site

Formula 1 returned to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, a track the paddock knows very well, in style with a dramatic, unexpected and surprising Spanish Grand Prix. Few could have expected the result, as Max Verstappen drove to victory on his debut for the Red Bull team, becoming the sport’s youngest ever race winner. As always, there were plenty of strategic elements for us to sink our teeth into, here are the main headlines:

Three stop fails to pay off

The choice between a two and a three stop strategy ended up deciding the podium places. Red Bull and Ferrari both opted to split strategies with their cars, with Kimi Raikkonen and Verstappen stopping twice and Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo planning to pit three times.

It was brilliant to see four drivers battling it out and the tension continued to build as the laps counted down, as the strategies started to take shape. Pirelli actually predicted before the race that a three stop would be the quickest, but that fails to take into account how difficult it is to pass at the Barcelona track.

Plus, both Vettel and Ricciardo failed to make significant inroads into Verstappen and Raikkonen’s advantage in the final laps, not helped by traffic. Ricciardo then picked up a puncture and had to pit again, which dropped him to fifth, but he bounced back to fourth. Vettel had to settle for third, with the three stop failing to work out.

Two stop the way to go

So a two-stop race proved to be the winning strategy. Both Verstappen and Raikkonen stopped on lap 12, with the Red Bull then pitting one lap before Raikkonen. The undercut was very important in Spain and this helped Verstappen to keep the gap to the Ferrari at a comfortable level as the final stint began.

Tyre degradation wasn’t as high as expected at the circuit, some thought Verstappen and Raikkonen would lose life in their Pirelli mediums late on but that wasn’t the case. They were able to keep up a decent pace throughout the final laps, which helped them to stay ahead of the chasing Vettel and Ricciardo.

So it appears the three stop was the wrong choice and both Red Bull and Ferrari shot themselves in the foot by splitting strategies, it cost Vettel and Ricciardo the chance to properly challenge for the win, having looked so strong early on. Of course, this was all helped by the two Mercedes drivers taking each other out…

Avoiding the hard tyre

The hard Pirelli compound made its debut appearance in Spain but it was rarely used throughout the weekend. Some drivers struggled to get temperature into their tyres, especially in the cooler conditions earlier on in the on-track action, and the long life of the mediums meant they got much more use on Sunday.

Just two stints were completed in the whole race on the orange-marked tyres, with both Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen completing laps on the compound. But Magnussen couldn’t get the tyres to work and failed to reach the end of the race, having to stop again. Palmer made it to reach the chequered flag but the pace was pretty underwhelming, which goes to prove why it didn’t get much action.

Haas likes the soft compound

The Haas F1 team once again tried something different with more running on the soft tyre compound. Both Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez brought eight sets of the softs, unlike most of their rivals. Gutierrez completed two stints on the softs to elevate him to 11th overall, while Grosjean retired, but had been on course for a three-stop strategy, with three soft tyre stints and one unusually short one on the mediums mid-race.

Jack Leslie @JackLeslieF1

Longest Stints

Hard: Palmer (32 laps)
Medium: Guitierrez (35 laps)
Soft: Grosjean (19 laps)

Most Stops

Ricciardo (4 – including drive-throughs)

All the Data

Thanks to Pirelli Motorsport for the detailed infographics

Stints by Driver

Safety Car –   3. Ricciardo Start P3 Used Soft 11 lap Pit 21.738 Medium 17 laps Pit 22.104 Used Soft 15 laps Pit 21.683 Medium 22 laps Pit 23.133 Used Soft 1 laps – Finished P4 (-1)   5. Vettel Start P6 Used Soft 15 laps Pit 21.643 Medium 14 laps Pit 22.617 Used Soft 8 laps Pit 21.603 Medium 29 laps – Finished P3 (+3)   6. Rosberg Start P2 Retired Lap 1 (DNF)   7. Raikkonen Start P5 Used Soft 15 laps Pit 23.187 User Soft 14 laps Pit 22.844 Medium 8 laps Pit 34.832 Used Soft 19 laps – Finished P2 (+3)   8. Grosjean Start P14 Soft 15 laps Pit 23.187 Used Soft 14 laps Pit 22.844 Medium 8 laps Pit 34.832 Used Soft 19 laps – Retired Lap 56 (DNF)   9. Ericsson Start P19 Used Soft 9 laps Pit 22.84 Soft 15 laps Pit 23.122 Medium 16 laps Pit 22.897 Medium 25 laps – Finished P12 (+7)   11. Perez Start P9 Used Soft 9 lap Pit 22.679 Medium 26 laps Pit 21.918 Medium 31 laps – Finished P7 (+2)   12. Nasr Start P20 Soft 12 laps Pit 22.976 Medium 24 laps Pit 23.09 Medium 29 laps – Finished P14 (+6)   14. Alonso Start P10 Used Soft 11 laps Pit 21.795 Medium 28 laps Pit 22.987 Medium 6 laps – Retired Lap 45 (DNF)   19. Massa Start P18 Soft 8 Laps Pit 21.384 Medium 27 laps Pit 22.568 Soft 16 laps Pit 21.831 Medium 25 laps – Finished P8 (+10)   20. Magnussen Start P15 Soft 10 laps Pit 22.843 Medium 20 laps Pit 23.165 Hard 25 laps Pit 22.122 Used Soft 10 laps – Finished P15 (+0)

21. Guttierrez Start P16 Soft 16 lap Pit 23.206 Used Soft 14 laps Pit 22.43 Medium 35 laps – Finished P11 (+5)   22. Button Start P12 Soft 10 laps Pit 22.28 Medium 26 laps Pit 22/59 Medium 29 laps – Finished P9 (+3)   26. Kvyat Start P13 Used Soft 9 lap Pit 23.277 Medium 16 laps Pit 22.234 Medium 26 laps Pit 22.769 Soft 14 laps – Finished P10 (+3)   27. Hulkenberg Start P11 Soft 10 laps Pit 22.176 Medium 10 laps – Retired Lap 20 (DNF)   30. Palmer Start P17 Soft 11 laps Pit 23.283 Medium 22 laps Pit 22.397 Hard 32 laps – Finished P13 (+4)   33. Verstappen Start P3 Used Soft 12 laps Pit 22.369 Medium 22 laps Pit 22.348 Medium 32 laps – Finished P1 (+2)   44. Hamilton Start P1 Retired Lap 1 (DNF)   55. Sainz Start P8 Used Soft 10 laps Pit 22.874 Medium 28 laps Pit 22.937 Medium 28 laps – Finished P6 (+2)   77. Bottas Start P7 Used Soft 12 laps Pit 21.856 Medium 27 laps Pit 22.443 Medium 27 laps – Finished P5 (+2)   88. Haryanto Start P22 Medium 22 laps Pit 28.753 Medium 26 laps Pit 26.186 Soft 17 laps – Finished P17 (+5)   94. Wehrlein Start P21 Soft 11 laps Pit 24.554 Medium 22 laps Pit 24.387 Medium 32 laps – Finished P16 (+5)