Pirelli: traction and stability key for F1 Austrian GP amid highly unique circuit
06/25/2024 02:01 PM
The first race of the Spain-Austria-United Kingdom trio ended with a victory for Red Bull and Max Verstappen, who led ahead of Lando Norris and McLaren, the realistic favorites before the race began from the pole position secured on Saturday.
The challenge will reignite this weekend in Austria, the second event of the triple header, on a highly unique circuit. Several features make this track unique in the calendar, such as the number of corners, only ten, the fewest in the calendar, and the fact that it is the fastest lap of the season over its 4.318 kilometers. Only Monaco and Interlagos are shorter.
The circuit ranks second in terms of elevation changes: 63.5 meters between the highest and lowest points, surpassed only by the 102.2 meters at Spa-Francorchamps. For example, negotiating the last two corners is one of the most challenging points not only on this circuit, due to the need to carry high speed through the corners without losing control or exceeding track limits, leading to many incidents and errors over the years.
As is traditional, Pirelli has selected the softest trio of compounds for this event, consisting of the C3 as Hard, the C4 as Medium, and the C5 as Soft. Spielberg's asphalt, having aged over the years, has high roughness, impacting degradation. However, the lateral forces exerted on the tires are significantly lower than the seasonal average due to the few high-speed corners, reducing wear, which also varies depending on track conditions and temperatures. In the past, there have been blistering episodes, especially on the rear tires, while in cooler editions, tire wear was more controlled.
Special attention must be paid to managing tire overheating, especially in high temperatures. Additionally, traction out of slow corners and braking stability are crucial for competitiveness on this track, with the second and third sectors requiring precision from the front tires.
In the last two editions, a two-stop strategy was the fastest, favoring the use of Medium and Hard tires: last year, no driver dared to use the Soft in the race, partly due to the format choices.
The Red Bull Ring will also see the third sprint weekend format of the 2024 Formula One championship, with a free practice session and Sprint qualifying on Friday, followed by the Sprint race and qualifying for Sunday's Grand Prix on Saturday. This is the third consecutive time, the first being in 2022, that this format is used at the Austrian Grand Prix.
To date, 14 Sprint races have been held, with Max Verstappen taking the lion's share with nine wins, but this year there will be rivals ready to challenge him.
The Dutch driver has the most wins (4) in this race, including a victory in the Styrian Grand Prix in 2021. A total of 25 drivers have stood on the top step of the podium in Austria, 11 of whom (Max himself, Alain Prost, Alan Jones, Mika Hakkinen, Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg, Emerson Fittipaldi, Niki Lauda, Nigel Mansell, Jacques Villeneuve, and Lewis Hamilton) have at least one world title to their name.
Among teams, Ferrari and McLaren are the most successful in the Austrian GP in various versions of this track with six wins each, joined by Mercedes at this number thanks to Lewis Hamilton's victory in the Styrian Grand Prix in 2020.
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