Both Mercedes drivers made their fastest lap on HARDS, while the other top teams used the softs for that.

Keeping that into account, Mercedes is looking like a very solid contender for this weekend. 🔥

In FP1's long runs, Mercedes showed potential race-winning pace.

Not only was RUS quickest: HAM was just 0.13s/lap slower than PIA and SAI on 38 laps-old (at stint end) Hards!

LEC (+0.015s) and NOR (+0.041s) were close to RUS, too
It will be close... but VER might disrupt this!

Become a page supporter to access:

-All the weekend’s analyses (80+)
-The in-depth quali and race preview and post-race articles for all GPs
-My two webinars on ‘F1 Telemetry analyses’ (Beginner and Intermediate level)

And thanks for your support! 🤩👇

https://buymeacoffee.com/f1dataanalysis/membership

Thoughts on Austrian GP Sprint Qualifying! 👀

- This weekend is looking like another VER-McL close fight!💥
- Mercedes was 3rd fastest, Ferrari 4th fastest (and LEC cannot catch a break)!
- Both Alpines in SQ3, 5th fastest team in front of Aston again: brilliant improvement! 📈

Who had the best top speed on Austrian GP's 3 straights? 🚀

🔵RedBull's slowest straight was still better than 🟠McL's fastest: clear drag advantage.
🟢Mercedes and🔴Ferrari were matched on every straight!
🟣Top speed is now Alpine's main issue (grip has improved significantly)!

[Considering each team's best lap]

RedBull's aerodynamic efficiency was unmatched:
🟡VER was quickest at the end of all straights (Lowest Drag) and quickest in all the (non-full-throttle) high-speed corners! (high downforce)

🟠NOR exploited McL's great traction.

🟢RUS was never the quickest outside of Sector 2.

Verstappen will start the sprint with 2 McLarens behind him!

How do you expect it to end?

Thoughts on Austrian GP Sprint! 👀

- Another close VER-McL fight! But VER gained an edge lap after lap.
- Blistering Ferrari start, but not enough pace to beat Mercedes. LEC asked to lift and coast to manage brake temp (tomorrow 49 more laps and full tank…).
- Tough sprint for ALO.

What’s YOUR opinion?🤔 (This track rarely disappoints, imho!)

RACE PACE - Austrian GP Sprint

McL quickest at the start, but their pace vs VER progressively deteriorated:
🥇🟡VER
🥈🟠PIA: +0.13s/lap
🥉🟠NOR: +0.20s/lap

🟢Mercedes: 0.08-0.09s/lap quicker than 🔴Ferrari.
⚪️Solid pace and wear by MAG!👌
Williams and Sauber slowest by far.

Teams can change the setup after the Sprint, and the higher fuel load in the Race might influence the running order!

Austrian GP SUMMARY

- RUS won again after almost 2 years! 37 points for Merc.
- ‘Aggressive’ NOR-VER fight ended in the worst way possible⚠️
- Opposite to the Sprint, McL’s pace improved through the session: PIA P2.
- LEC hopeless after L1 contact.
- Haas: 12 points, and HUL beat PER!➡️Overtook Alpine in WCC.

What’s your take on the crash and the preceding and following penalties?🤔

Tyre degradation was extremely high today, even taking into account the fact that Pirelli brought their softest compounds here (C3-C5).

Despite that, the Medium was actually a better tyre than the Hard, as the latter had similar durability at the expense of grip.

Austrian GP RACE PACE (Up to L64)

VER 0.05s/lap quicker than NOR, but lost more time in the pits.

Team pace (s/lap, faster driver on 2 stops)
🥇RBR
🥈McL +0.05
🥉Merc +0.30
4️⃣Ferrari +0.35
5️⃣Haas +0.97 (‼️)
6️⃣RacingBulls +1.09
7️⃣Alpine +1.10
8️⃣Williams +1.27
9️⃣Aston +1.28 (‼️)
🔟Sauber +1.45

SPEED TRAP (QUALIFYING)

📈Haas: best top speed on the two main straights➡️In the race, it was easier for them to attack and defend .

📉McLaren and (even more so) Alpine suffered from high drag: no wonder NOR struggled to attack VER (and OCO/GAS had trouble overtaking)!

Made via @JMP_software

⚠️ Verstappen complained about 'clipping', and he was right: he had a consistent top-speed deficit to Norris (the opposite than in qualifying), which grew larger in the 2nd stint.

🪫His ERS deployment reduced towards the end of the straight, limiting his top speed.

📈Norris' pace improved significantly throughout the race, allowing him to attack the leader in the last stint.

Silverstone: probably the most demanding track for the tyres! 🛞

- Extremely high wear (despite the hardest C1-C3 compounds).
- Cornering grip is crucial for performance here!

Most will use medium-load wings.

McL's downforce and RedBull's efficiency will be handy.✅

Who's your bet?🤔

Remember when Charles Leclerc
got on the podium of the British GP in the underpowered SF1000? 👀

Ferrari gambled by using a very unloaded rear wing, producing two benefits:
- Much less drag➡️Excellent top speed.🚀
- Less stress on the carcass➡️Improved tyre wear! 🛞

HAM's won by driving on 3 wheels after his front left failed.💥

The effect of downforce on tyre degradation is interesting:

Most of the time, adding downforce REDUCES the degradation, as the tyres slide less which prevents spikes in temperature and friction power from being generated.

However, adding too much downforce can increase the degradation, if the driver uses the additional grip to corner at a higher speed (therefore producing higher tyre forces, which induce more wear).

In general, tyre wear is improved by:

1) High downforce, but not to the point of inducing excessive tyre forces.
2) Making the driver not push 100% in the fast corners, which greatly reduces the sliding for a minimal performance loss.

Did you know you can find all my previous tech discussions and explanations (e.g. 'Which parts of an F1 car produce the most drag' and 'What is an Inerter?') neatly organised in my Subreddit?🤩

🛠Here is the link to it: new discussions are welcomed!
https://www.reddit.com/r/F1DataAnalysis/

💡REAR WINGS

Teams must strike a good balance between:
- cornering grip🛞 (more wing load),
- straight-line performance 🚀(less wing load).

This is my attempt at making sense of each team's choice!

Differences, while minor, become clear when comparing Aston and Sauber.

📸: @AlbertFabrega

Finally a good shot of RedBull's new vertical inlet! 👀 (Introduced in Spain)

RB20's launch puzzled everyone about the possible shape of their inlets.

After understanding their concept better in the first races, they've found the confidence to make its design more complex.🛠

📸: @AlbertFabrega ; @autosport