Formula Legend Belgian Grand Prix Strategy Report

Most of the field completed two-stop races, with tyre wear and degradation helped by the cooler conditions, while a few went for the more aggressive three-stop strategy and one driver even attempted to pit just once. Here are the main strategy stories from the Belgian Grand Prix:

Stopping Twice

Pirelli had suggested before the start that a two-stop race was the best option to go for, although pitting three times would be better if a driver was stuck in traffic or behind a slower car. The rain stayed away, giving us the first fully dry Belgian Grand Prix weekend since 2007, and that provided us with a more straight-forward strategic race.

The race winner Lewis Hamilton put in a perfect two-stop race, pitting on laps 13 and 30. Strangely, he asked to stay out for one further lap at his second stop, feeling that the tyres were in good condition. However, Mercedes said pitting immediately would be the quickest option and if not, Rosberg would take the stop and gain the advantage. He duly pitted when he was told.

Rosberg stopped on laps 12 and 31. His first trip to the pits was a few laps after those he was battling with on track, and despite being on old tyres, he managed to gain enough time to emerge in front of both Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo.

This proved to be crucial in his bid to take the fight to Hamilton, but he eventually ran out of time. Romain Grosjean was third and also opted for two stops, and this helped him to move up the order. Some struggled more with higher tyre wear and others had to stop due to problems or mix-ups, which meant several did stop three times.

Ferrari Takes a Risk

One person who was on a completely different strategy was Sebastian Vettel. He pitted to change from softs to mediums on lap 14, but with the tyres feeling good when the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed, he stayed out on track – as did the Mercedes duo and Daniil Kvyat.

However, whilst Hamilton, Rosberg and Kvyat eventually pitted, Vettel did not. It quickly became clear he was going for a one-stop race, and it looked like it was paying off. Running in third and holding off Grosjean, the risk failed to pay off when his right-rear tyre failed on the Kemmel Straight on the penultimate lap.

Vettel was fuming, venting his anger in the post-race interviews, branding Pirelli’s tyres “unacceptable”. The Italian supplier then said that its request two years ago for maximum number of laps completed on race tyres was not listened to.

Rosberg was also critical of the tyres after his puncture on Friday, which Pirelli found was due to an external source, cutting it and causing it to fail. The blowouts were certainly scary and happened at high-speed parts of the track, but fortunately both drivers did not hit the wall. However, both incidents will need to be investigated.

Ricciardo in With a Chance?

Ricciardo’s incredible start saw him jump from fifth to third in Belgium, but he couldn’t hold onto the place for long. An early scheduled trip to the pits prompted the first round of stops, but he lost out to Rosberg. While he was enjoying a close battle with Perez and Grosjean, his car shutdown suddenly at the final chicane.

Red Bull believes it could have been an electrical issue, but investigations will take place to track down the cause of the issue. It was disappointing for Ricciardo as he was in the fight for a top five result, which instead went to his team-mate Kvyat.

It seems likely that Ricciardo would have mirrored Perez’s strategy of a two-stop, pitting on lap 21 – reacting to the Force India’s stop, as he pitted just as the Australian retired. Both showed very even pace, the VJM08 better on the straights and the RB11 being more competitive in the twisty second sector.

Mix It Up

Williams made a terrible pit blunder at Valtteri Bottas’ first stop. He was sent back onto the circuit with three soft tyres and one medium tyre. Because it is against the F1 regulations, the Finn was given a drive-through penalty and this massively compromised his race.

Bottas put in decent pace on different tyre compounds, but the Williams just didn’t have the speed to challenge those ahead in race trim. Still, a better result would have been possible had it not been for the mix-up, which was very embarrassing for Williams. It looked like a rushed stop and they were not at all prepared.

Without the penalty, Bottas could well have been challenging Perez and his team-mate Felipe Massa for fifth and sixth. He eventually finished in ninth place, five seconds behind Verstappen.

Report by Jack Leslie

Longest Stints

Medium: Vettel (28 laps)
Soft: Nasr (16 laps)

Most Stops

Bottas, Verstappen, Alonso, Button (3 – including drivethroughs)