Spanish Grand Prix strategy report

Start Tyres

As the tyre warmers were removed in preparation for the formation lap, it was revealed that all 20 runners would start the race on the medium tyre – Pirelli predicted before the Spanish Grand Prix that this would be the preferred race tyre with the track conditions and temperatures.

Switching Strategy

Mercedes has admitted that it switched Hamilton to a three-stop strategy, doing something different and aggressive in an attempt to pass Vettel. The Englishman dropped behind the Ferrari driver at the start and couldn’t find a way through in the opening two stints.

A slow first pit stop didn’t help matters and meant he failed to get the undercut on his rival. Having switched strategy, he used the hard tyre for his third stint and then emerged from his final stop ahead of Vettel and on the medium tyre.

He was then able to quickly pull away and closed the gap to Rosberg. However, he ran out of laps to really make inroads and finished 17 seconds further back. He struggled to pass Vettel on track due to the lack of overtaking spots at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Ferrari’s improved straight line speed and a lack of grip when running in tight formation – he seemed to lose ground through the final chicane when following the SF15-T.

Because Ferrari kept to a two-stop race, Vettel never really had a chance to fight Hamilton – Ferrari appears to have lost some pace in the fight with Mercedes for the top spot, but he could have challenged and even kept Hamilton behind if Ferrari had reacted to Mercedes’ strategy call and switched as well.

Iceman’s recovery

Kimi Raikkonen wasn’t happy with his car after qualifying and lined up seventh on the grid. A great start saw him rise to fifth and Ferrari opted to go for a similar strategy to the one he completed in Bahrain, with a long middle stint on the harder compound Pirelli tyre.

However, this time it didn’t work out. He wasn’t fast enough through that stint and it meant he spent the final 19 laps stuck behind the Williams of Valtteri Bottas. With strong straight line speed from the Mercedes power unit and a lack of places to pass, Raikkonen had to settle for fifth.

Two vs three stops

13 of the 20 race starters went for a two-stop race, which on paper was seen to be slightly slower, but with less risk of getting caught behind slower cars and in traffic. Hamilton was the only driver in the top five to stop three times, and this was in a bid to pass Vettel after his poor start.

Overall, the two-stop outperformed the three, with five other drivers mirroring Hamilton’s strategy – Felipe Massa, Nico Hulkenberg, Jenson Button, Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi. Williams opted to put the former on a three-stop strategy due to higher tyre wear, which his team-mate Valtteri Bottas didn’t suffer and ended up changing the other way, from three to two stops. Massa made up positions at the start but the strategy didn’t help him gain any more places.

Four Stops

Pastor Maldonado failed to finish the race after retiring on lap 45, but he still stopped four times. However, this was not due to strategy. Instead, it was because he made contact with his team-mate at Turn 3 and damaged his rear wing endplate.

He had to make an additional pit stop after his first trip so the team could take a look at the rear wing and see what could be done. Eventually, they just ripped off the entire right endplate and sent him out. He then pitted for the fourth and final time to exit the race.

Trouble in the pits

It was a busy pit lane in Spain, with a new incidents cropping up. Fernando Alonso suffered brake issues and when he pitted, he overshot his box by quite some way. Fortunately he didn’t hit anyway.

The same can’t be said for Romain Grosjean, who did the same thing – thanks to a “slippery pit box according to Lotus – and ran into his front jack man. It was a hefty hit but the crew member soldiered on bravely, with Grosjean able to return to the race.

Jack Leslie

Pirelli Strategy Infographics