French GP: Pirelli Qualifying Review
By Courtesy of Pirelli
June 20 2021
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Pirelli
French GP Qualifying Review |
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POSSIBLE RACE STRATEGIES
The 53-lap French Grand Prix is set to be a one-stopper. With all the top 10
choosing to start on the P Zero Yellow medium tyre, a medium to hard
one-stopper is the logical way forward for them – and this could be the case
even for those outside the top 10. In fact, for those further down the
field, starting on the P Zero White hard could be another option as well,
before switching to the medium or P Zero Red soft later in the race.
A one-stopper from soft to medium is definitely too demanding, especially if
it’s warm, so the only other obvious choice will be soft to hard (although
that will require a bit of tyre management on the soft).
However, there’s also a small chance that there could be some rain tomorrow
morning, and while that’s unlikely to persist until the race, a wet surface
in the morning might affect tyre strategy. |
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FOCUS ON:
* Red Bull driver Max Verstappen claimed Pirelli’s 250th pole position,
having also gone fastest by a big margin in FP3 this morning. He ran the C4
Red soft compound to set his pole time, which he also used to establish the
best FP3 time in the morning.
* Practically all the drivers used the Yellow medium C3 tyre for the crucial
Q2 session, which determines the tyres they will start the race on tomorrow.
As a result, all the top 10 on the grid is set to start on the medium.
* Williams driver George Russell was the only driver to begin Q2 on the soft
tyres, before switching to the medium. The medium was also used during the
first Q3 run by Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo.
* There were two red flags in the opening Q1 session, including one that
ended the session prematurely with 20 seconds to go and prevented a number
of drivers from completing their laps.
* Temperatures remained dry and warm similar to yesterday, peaking at 32
degrees ambient and 46 degrees of track temperature. This might change
tomorrow, with some forecasts of light rain in the morning.
MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING
“The almost unanimous decision to run the Yellow medium tyre in Q2 gives
some idea of what we can expect from the race strategy tomorrow, with the
medium C3 compound offering more durability than the soft without costing
too much by way of performance. But with all the top 10 starting on the
medium, this leaves the way clear for those behind them to try something
different tactically and potentially gain an advantage in the early stages
of the race. This could be the case in particular if it rains and
temperatures then drop tomorrow, which might bring the track back towards
the softest compound. Congratulations to Max Verstappen and Red Bull for
pole position, which also happens to be Pirelli’s 250th pole in Formula 1.” |
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FREE PRACTICE 3 – TOP 3 TIMES
DRIVER TIME COMPOUND
Verstappen 1m31.300s SOFT C4 USED
Bottas 1m32.047s SOFT C4 NEW
Sainz 1m32.195s SOFT C4 NEW
QUALIFYING TOP 10
DRIVER TIME COMPOUND
Verstappen 1m29.990s SOFT C4 NEW
Hamilton 1m30.248s SOFT C4 NEW
Bottas 1m30.376s SOFT C4 NEW
Perez 1m30.445s SOFT C4 NEW
Sainz 1m30.840s SOFT C4 NEW
Gasly 1m30.868s SOFT C4 NEW
Leclerc 1m30.987s SOFT C4 NEW
Norris 1m31.252s SOFT C4 NEW
Alonso 1m31.340s SOFT C4 NEW
Ricciardo 1m31.382s SOFT C4 NEW
BEST TIME BY COMPOUND SO FAR
COMPOUND DRIVER TIME
HARD C2 Vettel 1m33.839s
MEDIUM C3 Bottas 1m30.735s
SOFT C4 Verstappen 1m29.990s
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