|
The Pirelli-sponsored French
Grand Prix was held in track temperatures that peaked at 54 degrees
centigrade: some of the hottest seen all year. In these extreme conditions,
most drivers adopted the same one-stop medium-hard strategy, used by six out
of the top seven drivers. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, fifth at the flag,
converted to a two-stop strategy in order to take the extra point for
fastest lap at the end with the soft tyre.
KEY MOMENTS
- With the rates of wear and degradation expected in the warm conditions in
the south of France, all but seven of the drivers started on the medium
tyre. Nonetheless, a one-stopper was possible even if starting on the soft
tyre, as Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly showed.
- The cars are going faster than ever: by halfway through the race, Mercedes
driver Valtteri Bottas already set a time equivalent to last year’s fastest
race lap: despite carrying more fuel and on much harder tyres (C2 compound
in 2019, equivalent to last year’s medium, as opposed to supersoft in 2018).
- Some drivers tried an alternative strategy by doing a long opening stint
on the hard tyre: especially Racing Point’s Lance Stroll, who did 39 laps on
the hard from the start, before switching to medium.
- The extra point for fastest lap was claimed by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel,
who made an extra stop with two laps to go to put on the soft. His fastest
race lap was fractionally quicker than the fastest lap from race winner
Lewis Hamilton, on used hard tyres.
HOW EACH TYRE PERFORMED
HARD C2: A crucial ingredient of the race, which was used for the second
stint by the majority of the field. Stood up well to the demands of the
track but still needed some management in the closing stages.
MEDIUM C3: The preferred starting tyre as we expected: chosen by eight of
the top 10 qualifiers, and by all but five of those starting outside the top
10.
SOFT C4: Only two drivers started on this tyre, which did not have a long
life in the harsh conditions of Paul Ricard. With light fuel on the final
lap it set a new fastest lap with Sebastian Vettel.
MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING
“TThe French Grand Prix was a demonstration of the impressive way that all
the cars have gained speed compared to last year, in track temperatures that
were among the hottest that we have raced in. Nonetheless, the majority of
drivers stopped only once, with the medium-hard strategy that we predicted
as fastest proving to be the most popular choice. The tyres stood up well to
what were extremely challenging conditions, not just because of the high
temperatures but also because of the extensive track evolution over the
course of the weekend. Now we head straight to Spielberg in Austria for the
first back-to-back race of the season.” |
)