News
Verstappen and engineer took Miami F1 hard tyre plan to strategists
The world champion won the Miami Grand Prix with stunning momentum from ninth on the grid after opting for an alternate tire strategy for the leader.
Verstappen was able to manage the hard tires brilliantly through the long first stint, while those in the lead struggled on the medium compound.
add: How Verstappen deployed an underappreciated powerhouse to beat Perez in Miami
Reflecting on the inspired choice, Verstappen says the idea came about after discussions with his engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase.
“That’s something my engineers and I already wanted to know (on Saturday),” he explained. “We already have a strong opinion on this.
“Then, of course, you have to discuss it with the team, the strategists, and they’re like: ‘Okay. In terms of game times, it’s pretty close between medium/hard or hard/medium, so it doesn’t really matter.
“But, of course, when you start from a tough place, the stakes are a little bit higher because we only have one, so if you get a puncture on the first lap or something, then of course your race is a little bit tougher.
“But I’m happy to take that gamble and do it the other way around. I think even if it’s the other way around, of course you have to always take care of your tires, even at medium speeds – but I just think it’s possible Gave me a better chance to get through the field in the first place.
“I think, by lap 14, I was on the podium, so from there on, it’s mostly driving in clean air and you have to take care of your tyres, anyway.”
Race winner Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team celebrate on the podium
Photography: Red Bull Content Pool
While Verstappen promised early on to start off hard, team-mates Sergio Perez Said he never considered it because it was too much of a risk to start with.
“When you start from pole it’s more of a gamble, the safety car could be right or it could be wrong,” he said.
“I think at the time, none of us anticipated that the medium would (underperform) … because almost the entire grid started with the medium. I don’t think we all realized how fragile its tires were. I think once we ran with it After a few laps we realized it was a bad tyre.”
Asked if he thought he could win if he started on hard courts, Perez said: “I think it’s hard to answer that because you don’t know what the tires are going to do.
“Of course, just spending less time on very weak mid-weight compounds would make my mileage look a little better.”
Russell also had bounce problems in the high-speed corners of Barcelona, which made it harder to drive his Mercedes W14 to the limit, with the Briton reporting he believed he had problems with his tires early in the first quarter.
“The car didn’t feel good every lap of the race,” Russell said when asked by Autosport about the car’s behavior.
“We made some small changes from FP3 to quali, and the car bounced a lot in high-speed corners.
“In the corners that were easy to get flat in practice, I couldn’t get it flat. I couldn’t get the tires to work, everything went wrong. From the first lap in Q1, I knew we weren’t going to have a good day. It was weird .
“We should take advantage of conditions like that, which we usually do. As a team we usually do well when it’s challenging, but today, especially with me, it was different.”
Russell was knocked out in the second period after contact with team-mate Lewis Hamilton and was six-tenths off Max Verstappen’s benchmark time for the stage.
Russell mentioned that Q1 leader Nico Hulkenberg was 1.5 seconds behind to underscore his struggles, adding: “I’ve tried all kinds of outer circles, all kinds of pressure. Probably just getting ourselves a little bit lost and confused.
George Russell, Mercedes-AMG
Photograph: Sam Bloxham / motorsport pictures
“For those cold, wet, oily conditions, the set-up changes we made in qualifying were definitely going in the wrong direction, which is a shame, especially because I think we have a very fast car. I think in FP2 In , we probably have the second fastest car after the Max, ahead of the Ferraris.
“So not all is lost. Tomorrow we just have to be patient and try to bounce back.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff backed Russell’s downbeat assessment of his weekend, admitting the team had gone the wrong way with his car.
“It was clear from the start that the set direction we were going with George made the car worse,” he said. “I think from the very beginning he was complaining that he didn’t have any grip, he had bounce and the car was understeering before it was oversteering.
“That’s something we need to unwind now to see exactly what we could have done differently.”
Charles Leclerc was disappointed to qualify for the Spanish Grand Prix for the 19th time. The Monaco native is looking forward to what will be a tricky game for him. Leclerc expects tire management and pit stops to play a big role in the race. He told this in a press conference with GPblog and others.
Lewis Hamilton finished fifth in Spain. Due to Pierre Gasly’s penalty, the Briton could start from fourth. The Mercedes driver suffered a lot from a bouncing car, the Mercedes driver told GPblog and others at a press conference during free practice.
Russell “lost and confused” as Mercedes hampered by F1 bouncing
Leclerc: 'We will see a lot of pit stops, we have our chances that way'
Hamilton on bouncing in Spain: 'We need to find out what it is'
Hamilton on bouncing car in Spain: 'We need to perfect it'
Formula E qualifying in Jakarta: Frijns last, Günther on pole again
This is the time difference between Pirelli tyres in Spain
Alonso vs Verstappen; who beats whom? 'Man, that is hard'
Red Bull played it safe: "Just in case Lewis pulled something out the bag"
Haas needs to “stay cool” after F1 Spanish GP practice showing
F1 LIVE | The third free practice for the F1 Spanish Grand Prix
-
News2 months agoSainz Australian GP penalty review had sufficient new evidence
-
News2 months agoFIA dismisses Sainz’s F1 Australian GP penalty review
-
Videos2 months agoPiastri opens up on F1 home race debut in Australia
-
News2 months agoHorner criticises FIA choice: 'Absolutely ludicrous'
-
News2 months agoMinardi: ‘Moving AlphaTauri from Faenza would be very difficult’
-
News2 months agoFull FIA stewards’ verdict on Sainz’s Australian GP penalty
-
News2 months agoCompetition for Verstappen in Baku? 'He is extra motivated now'
-
News2 months agoMcLaren hopeful because of Red Bull: 'This is what gives them big advantage'