Once again Max Verstappen. The Dutch never stops and wins too Sprint of the Austrian Grand Prix, in conditions that were anything but simple. The world champion takes home another eight points, remaining the undisputed leader of the championship. However, the full spoils will have to be achieved today - with the race scheduled for 15.00 pm - with Verstappen who will start in the front row together with Charles Leclerc's Ferrari.
Isola admits: “The Sprint puts on a great show
Verstappen is undoubtedly the favourite, but Ferrari - and especially Leclerc - will try to ruin the party for the driver who drives the home car this weekend at the start. In addition to tire management, the strategy: How many stops will there be? Will the soft be used?
The head of the Motorsport technical area spoke on the topic Pirelli Mario Island who, first of all, wanted to focus his attention on the spectacle given by yesterday's Sprint: "Saturday was a very interesting day, where the weather conditions have created that mix of different situations and available options on the track that can make Formula 1 uncertain and spectacular. Many positions have changed in the last moments. For example, the fact that between the two Aston Martins, which did all 24 laps with the Intermediates, and Hulkenberg - who, after the first part with the Intermediates, did the last seven laps with the Mediums - there was only a second of difference shows how both options were still valid. In summary, I think we can say that the Sprint format is really bringing even more spectacle to Formula 1".
GP Strategy Austria, Isola: “The soft will unlikely be used”
Coming instead to the tire status and to the strategy to be implemented for this GP, Isola added: “With only one free practice session available, there is not much data available to extensively analyze the behavior of the tires over long distances but we think that the Soft is not a tire that will be used, thus narrowing the choice between the Medium and Hard. On paper, the fastest strategy seems to be the two-stop strategy, starting on the Mediums and then switching to the Hards and finishing again on the Mediums or, for those who have two sets of C3 available, one more stint with the harder compound. Also the one stop (Medium-Hard) could be competitive but, also given the progress of last year's race, less attractive than the double pit stop".
Condolences for Van't Hoff
“Finally, I would like to express Pirelli's condolences for the passing of Dilano Van't Hoff, who died yesterday afternoon at Spa-Francorchamps during a race of the Formula Regional European Championship: a tragedy that reminds us once again how racing can sometimes be cruel and how safety is the imperative of all those who play a role in motorsport.”
SOURCE: Pirelli F1 Media
