|
A day of mixed weather at
Hockenheim added further question marks to a circuit that the teams aren’t
particularly familiar with, having last raced there in 2016 with a different
specification of car and narrower tyres.
After hot conditions yesterday, rain this morning meant that track
temperatures were considerably lower, both during a wet FP3 and a drying
qualifying session. Nonetheless, conditions were still dry enough for slick
tyres, with everyone running only the ultrasoft throughout Q1 and Q3.
During Q2, which was interrupted by a red flag with seven minutes to go,
there were some strategic variations with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and
McLaren’s Fernando Alonso opting to run the soft tyre before the red flag.
In the end, they both set their fastest times on the quicker ultrasoft,
meaning that all of the top 10 will start on this compound tomorrow, headed
by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, whose pole time was more than three seconds
faster than the last Hockenheim pole in 2016. As a result, he becomes the
only man to have claimed the Pirelli Pole Position Award five times this
year.
MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF CAR RACING
“All the drivers embarked on today’s qualifying session without the benefit
of the representative data that is usually collected in FP3 on Saturday
morning, due to the very wet conditions. Even though qualifying took place
on drying asphalt, the top cars were still immediately on a pace that was
faster than Friday’s FP2 session, thanks also to asphalt temperatures that
were more than 20 degrees cooler than yesterday. In these conditions, the
Purple ultrasoft tyres worked perfectly, resulting in a pole position time
that was more than three seconds faster than the last pole at Hockenheim set
two years ago: a notable figure, given that this is quite a short lap.
Strategy tomorrow will depend somewhat on the degradation of the ultrasoft
in the specific weather conditions for the race, but it should be a
one-stopper for everyone. In any case, all three compounds look to be viable
options for the grand prix”.
HOW THE TYRES BEHAVED TODAY
MEDIUM - Not used today but might be useful for a one-stop strategy.
SOFT - Chosen for the start of Q2 by Verstappen and Alonso, who then went on
to ultrasoft.
ULTRASOFT - Used throughout the majority of qualifying; including by the top
10.
INTERMEDIATE - Used just for an out and in lap in FP3 but a possibility
tomorrow if rain persists.
WET - Seen from start to finish of FP3, where the two Saubers were
fastest... |
