Bahrain Grand Prix strategy report

Kimi Raikkonen finished in the runner-up spot, with Lewis Hamilton bouncing back from a disastrous start to take the final podium. The new-for-2016 tyre regulations threw up plenty of strategy options, here are some of the main headlines from the Bahrain GP:

Mercedes splits strategy

The two Mercedes drivers found themselves in very different positions after the first lap. Rosberg was out front with a clear lead, while Hamilton suffered contact with Valtteri Bottas at Turn 1. He dropped to as low as ninth on the opening tour of the Bahrain International Circuit but quickly made up places.

The current constructors’ champions played it safe with Rosberg, starting on the super-softs, switching to new softs on lap 13, moving onto a scrubbed set of the softest tyre compound on lap 30 and then switching back to a new set of softs for the final stint on lap 39.

The strategy mirrored the one used by Ferrari with Raikkonen, with Mercedes covering off the mild threat of the Finnish driver. But the team opted to try something different with Hamilton to help him make progress up the order following his poor start. We don’t often seen Mercedes splitting its strategy like this.

Despite the damage his car suffered, Hamilton didn’t pit until lap 13. He went onto a set of medium tyres for a longer second stint, which helped him move past slower cars. Having dropped to sixth after his stop, he soon found himself back in a podium spot. He moved back to scrubbed super-softs on lap 28 and finally switched to the softs on lap 41, a later stop than most.

The strategy was unconventional, but it is likely that Hamilton would have moved up to third place anyway even with the same strategy as Rosberg, even with the damage to his car. The Mercedes and Ferrari remain some way ahead of the chasing pack.

Grosjean likes the super-softs

Haas once again got its strategy right, which boosted Romain Grosjean to fifth place – going one better than Australia. The Frenchman was once again the sole Haas driver to reach the finish and he did so in spectacular style, using three sets of super-softs to complete some stunning overtakes and move up the order.

He lined up in ninth place, the first driver to get free choice of tyre. Haas went for new super-softs and he exited the final corner on the first lap in sixth place. He pitted earlier than most around him on lap 11 for another new set of super-softs, before switching to a used set on lap 27.

These stints on the fastest Pirelli compound meant we saw a feisty and racy Grosjean as he moved up the order. The differing strategies produced great racing due to drivers being out of position and on different compounds, and Grosjean’s battles were clear evidence of this. His final stint on the soft tyre, which he moved onto on lap 40, saw him move up to fifth, which is where he finished.

Williams choose the mediums

Unlike most, Williams opted to use the medium tyre more than other teams during the Bahrain Grand Prix but the decision failed to pay off. Felipe Massa and Bottas ran second and third early on, despite the latter’s contact with Hamilton, but switching early to the mediums had a big impact on the team’s end position.

Massa stopped on lap seven, while Bottas pitted on lap eight and then had a drive-through, which he served on the next lap. Massa struggled on the mediums but Williams continued with a two-stop strategy. The Brazilian pitted for the final time on lap 29 for another set of the hardest tyre brought to Bahrain, while Bottas stopped for softs on lap 34.

The track temperatures favoured a more aggressive strategy on the softer tyre compounds but Williams didn’t go down that route, instead going for longer stints on the harder Pirelli rubber. It backfired and Massa finished eighth, with Bottas down in ninth, not helped by the damage he sustained on lap one.

Red Bull suffer higher deg

Red Bull Racing looked to struggle more with higher tyre degradation in Bahrain, with Daniel Ricciardo often struggling at the end of his stints before diving into the pits. The team reacted quickly to this and the strategy eventually paid off, with Ricciardo finishing a rather lonely fourth.

He stopped very early on lap six for the soft tyre, before fitting a new set on lap 24 and going for the medium tyre on lap 42. It could be argued running the harder compound in the third stint would have been more beneficial to his race, or running a third soft tyre in the shorter final stint could have helped him cut the gap to those ahead of him.

But Ricciardo only had two sets of soft tyres available for the race and one set of mediums, which restricted Red Bull in its strategy decisions. In the end though, he was a distant fourth and would have likely finished in the same position even with a tweak in strategy. Meanwhile Daniil Kvyat completed two longer stints on the softs early on before two shorter final stints on the super-softs, which helped him move up the order from a poor grid position and avoid the higher tyre degradation. He finished seventh.

Jack Leslie @JackLeslieF1

Longest Stints

Medium: Ericsson, Massa (27 laps)
Soft: Perez (23 laps)
Supersoft: Perez (19 laps)

Most Stops

Hulkenberg (4 – including drivethroughs)

All the Data

Thanks to Pirelli Motorsport for the detailed infographics

Stints by Driver