Episode 13 of the 2016 Strategy Podcast: by Formula Legend provides insight & analysis of strategic decisions made during the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix. Our host Michael Lamonato is joined by Craig Scarborough – F1 journalist. For full written report about the strategy plays in this race, and detailed data (including all the stints and tyre choices) … View more →
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.
Image: SPA, BELGIUM – AUGUST 28: Mark Webber drinks champagne from the boot of Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Red Bull Racing on the podium during the Formula One Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on August 28, 2016 in Spa, Belgium (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images)
Race 13 – 44 Laps – 7.004km per lap – 308.052km race distance – medium tyre wear
Following a much-needed break, Formula 1 returned from its summer holidays refreshed and ready for the challenge of Spa-Francorchamps. It proved to be a pretty exciting Belgian Grand Prix, particularly in the first 15 laps.
Nico Rosberg proved unchallenged at the front of the field to win the race, with Daniel Ricciardo a strong second for Red Bull and Rosberg’s Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton recovering from 21st to third after engine change grid penalties.
The famous race track sparked a whole host of interesting talking points when it came to F1 strategy, here were the main headlines:
Varied first stint strategies
It’s rare we see all three Pirelli tyre compounds being used for the first stint, but drivers lined up on the grid on a wide range of choices. Fernando Alonso and Hamilton, starting from the back, went for the mediums.
Several top 10 drivers opted for the softs after making it through to Q3 on the mid-range compound – the tactics had already begun in qualifying! The soft compound was the most popular for the first stint at Spa, with only six starting on the super-softs. We looked set for a very interesting strategic race.
Early stops for many
Getting caught up in incidents on the first lap caused several drivers – including Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen, Max Verstappen and Felipe Nasr – to stop early on for repairs and a fresh set of tyres. A few also pitted to retire (Jenson Button and Pascal Wehrlein).
The safety car came out after Kevin Magnussen’s huge crash at the top of Eau Rouge (which he escaped from with just a small cut to his left ankle) and this prompted some drivers to pit, but then the red flag came out for barrier repairs.
Under the regulations, drivers were able to change tyres under the red flag and six of them – including the top three finishers – decided to do so. This gave them a free pitstop, a huge advantage at Spa.
A disadvantage for some
But the red flag proved to be a disadvantage for those who had pitted under the safety car, as they had already lost track position. One example was Nico Hulkenberg, who had been running second, but fell behind Ricciardo to third with his early stop.
It’s one of those dangers with reacting to incidents. Teams who pitted under the safety car assumed the red flag wouldn’t be shown, expecting to gain time from it, but others might have predicted a red flag and stayed out, knowing they could change tyres and get a free stop.
Changing things up
The race went from a clear three-stop strategy with a range of options to a simple medium/soft or soft/medium run to the flag. Most drivers went for the softs for the stint after the red flag and conclude the Belgian GP on the mediums.
Daniil Kvyat and Jolyon Palmer went for the super-softs for a final aggressive stint but they failed to make the most of it and gain positions. The super-softs suffered more in the warmer conditions but the softs worked well and even the mediums were competitive, while lasting a long time too.
It was unusual to see all three compounds getting used so much, usually the hardest of the three is largely ignored throughout the weekend but with smaller differences in the compounds and slightly cooler conditions compared to qualifying meant we didn’t see as much degradation and wear as many expected.
Three-stops don’t pay off
Hamilton’s race to third was largely helped by the early mayhem. At the safety car period he was running in fifth place. Mercedes put him on a more aggressive three-stop strategy, like Red Bull did with Max Verstappen, but while Hamilton had the pace to make progress and gain two more spots to take the podium, it didn’t work quite so well with Verstappen and he finished down in 12th.
Tricky tyre pressures
During the very warm free practice sessions on Friday, some drivers complained at the tyre pressures being too high. Romain Grosjean claimed his tyres were giving up mid-corner and there was a lack of grip. There was also high degradation and wear due to the high temperatures.
Pirelli opted to keep the tyre pressures and it didn’t seem to be too much of an issue during the race, which took place in slightly cooler and cloudier conditions. But given the number of drivers complaining after Friday practice (Felipe Massa even called it a “joke”), it makes you wonder whether the pressures should’ve been tweaked for Saturday and Sunday.
Episode 12 of the 2016 Strategy Podcast: by Formula Legend provides insight & analysis of strategic decisions made during the 2016 German Grand Prix. Our host Michael Lamonato is joined by Abhishek Takle – F1 journalist. For full written report about the strategy plays in this race, and detailed data (including all the stints and tyre … View more →
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.
The Hockenheimring returned to the Formula 1 calendar as host to round 12 of the 2016 season, with the German Grand Prix being the final race before the summer break. Lewis Hamilton dominated after a strong start to take his sixth win of the year.
Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen put in strong performances to score Red Bull’s first double podium of the season, finishing in second and third. Nico Rosberg lost further ground in the championship race with a fourth place on home soil.
The race threw up plenty of interesting strategy headlines, with a variety of different options being used up and down the grid. Here are the main strategy stories to emerge from the German GP.
Two laps for Dany Ric
Tyre degradation was higher in Germany than at previous races, meaning any extra laps completed on a tyre in qualifying could have had an impact on the first stints of the race. Ricciardo had to go for two laps on his fastest Q2 run, with those super-soft tyres then being used at the start of the race.
This meant they weren’t quite as fresh as the tyres his rivals were running but it proved to not have much of an impact, as he was able to stop one lap later than Verstappen and Rosberg. It didn’t particularly help his fight to beat Verstappen but he ended up moving ahead of him later on.
Gutierrez starts on softs
Esteban Gutierrez qualified in the coveted 11th grid position, meaning he was the first to have free reign of strategy when it came to choosing a tyre compound to start on. Haas opted to do something different and put him on the softs – the Mexican was the only driver to start on this tyre.
But a disastrous start caused him to fall to as low as 18th place, which had a big impact on the rest of his race. The strategy brought him back into play for a more positive result but he ended up finishing just six seconds off his first point of the season, coming home 11th.
Three stop rules the day
When F1 last visited Hockenheim, a two-stop strategy was the way to go. The tyres were more durable back then and the cars have evolved a lot since, but Pirelli predicted it would be very close between a two and a three stop race this year.
The three-stop was a safer bet, due to the tyre wear rates, but a two-stop could still work well if drivers were in clean air and could manage the tyres. Three trips to the pitlane proved to be the most popular choice in 2016, due to the tyre degradation and warm temperatures at the Hockenheimring.
But with a three stop comes a more diverse mix of compound strategies, we saw the leading four cars on different tyres during the final two stints. The soft and super-soft were the only compounds used throughout the race, as expected after limited running on the hardest compound (the mediums – seriously, what’s the point in them anyway?).
Vettel makes his own calls
Sebastian Vettel proved to be very vocal on the radio during the race when it came to race strategy. Before his final stop the German was told to pit but he replied “negative”, saying the super-soft tyres he was on could last a few more laps and were in good shape. He ended up pitting on lap 46 but he couldn’t take advantage of the fresher tyres compared to his rivals and ended up finishing well clear of the top four in fifth place.
Perez does the undercut
Sometimes the undercut doesn’t work all that well but it proved to be pretty handy in Germany, Perez leapfrogged several cars with early stops. He had a poor first lap, describing it as the “worst start” of his career, but a strategy change from Force India helped him move up the order. All of his three stops were earlier than his rivals and he used his strong tyre management skills to move up to 10th place in the closing stages.
Ambitious Bottas
Williams tried a two-stop strategy for Valtteri Bottas but the brave move didn’t work, the Finnish driver pitted to change from super-softs to softs on lap 12 and then went for another fresh set of softs on the 33rd tour of the race.
The long final stint didn’t quite work and Bottas ended up losing ground and a position to Jenson Button in the final laps, just holding off the hard-charging Perez. It was a similar story for Fernando Alonso, he was on a three-stop race but McLaren struggled more with degradation and the Spaniard ended up falling out of the top 10 with a few laps to go.
Rosberg doesn’t have the pace
Rosberg picked up a five-second penalty for forcing Verstappen off the road at Turn 6 and it was served at his final stop, but a stopwatch problem – according to Toto Wolff – meant the wait before the pit crew got to work was eight seconds instead. This cost Rosberg time but he lacked pace throughout the entire race.
The German dropped from first to fourth on lap one and struggled to fight back early on. He at one stage found himself up in second place after a super-soft second stint and a third stint on the softs, but the penalty cost him dearly and he ended up closing in on Verstappen late on, coming within two seconds of third place.
Hamilton out front
But while he looked less comfortable compared to Rosberg in practice, it all came together for Hamilton on race day. He took the lead at the start, opened up an advantage and put in a straightforward three-stop race, pitting on laps 14, 34 and 47 – going for a super-soft/soft/super-soft/soft strategy. It worked well and he crossed the line well clear of Ricciardo.