Austria Tyre Selection

We are back racing this week and Pirelli have chosen the tyres for this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, which is Round 10 of 23.

The tyres which are available for the teams are: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft), just like last time out in Montreal.

This weekend will be the second grand prix on the calendar featuring an F1 Sprint. With the Sprint Shootout deciding the grid for the Sprint, and only having three short sessions that make up the Shootout. Teams will have to fit new tyres and use the medium compound for Q1 and Q1 and only in Q3 the soft compound will be used.

The Red Bull Ring has only 10 corners, with the shortest lap time of any track on the championship, with the lap record being held by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, with a time of 1m05.619s in the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix.

Most drivers made two stops last year, starting on the medium tyre ahead of two stints on the hard. There was plenty of overtaking, particularly in the midfield, with five cars competing for the places just off the podium.

The elevation changes at the Red Bull Ring put it second only to Spa-Francorchamps in terms of variation. There’s a change of more than 60 metres between the lowest point on the track – just before Turn 1 – and the highest point, after Turn 2.

The Red Bull Ring is a circuit where tyres get no rest. The cars race through the track’s 10 corners in a lap time of just over a minute, and the few straights mean that there is little reprieve for the tyres. The asphalt has a fairly high micro and macro roughness, due to the age of the surface, while grip is high at the start of the lap. Traction and braking are key elements, while particular attention will have to be paid to managing tyre overheating. Drivers who manage not to cool their tyres properly may find it difficult to defend against attacks from rivals, especially in the first and last sectors. An important factor in this will be ambient temperature, with weather conditions traditionally somewhat variable. Last year’s race was largely a two-stopper using the medium and hard compounds, but a one-stopper could also be an option this year if degradation is not too high.

Mario Isola – Motorsport Director.