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Belgian GP: Pirelli Qualifying Review

By Courtesy of Pirelli
August 23 2015

 
 Pirelli Qualifying Review Belgian GP
 
Pirelli Tyre
 

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has equalled Michael Schumacher’s run of six consecutive pole positions, after going fastest in qualifying at Spa on the Pirelli P Zero Yellow soft tyre. This was also the ninth Mercedes one-two of the season, with Hamilton’s pole time of 1m47.197s.

Hamilton and his team mate Nico Rosberg were the only drivers to get through Q1 on the medium tyre. Not only that, but they were first and second fastest respectively, during their second run on the medium compound.

From Q2 onwards, the drivers all used the soft compound, which is currently around 1.4/1.5 seconds per lap faster than the medium tyre. Once again, the two Mercedes were fastest: a pattern that was repeated in Q3.

The final top 10 shootout was clinched by Hamilton after the second of two runs on the soft tyre, with Rosberg just under half a second behind. However, historically Spa is not a circuit where starting on pole is crucial for race victory, meaning that an unpredictable battle is still likely tomorrow.

Unusually for Spa, the weather remained warm and dry all day, with track temperatures exceeding 40 degrees centigrade. Dry conditions are expected to continue tomorrow, but the microclimate around the Ardennes region means that nothing can be taken for granted.
Hamilton’s stunning form was also reflected in the final free practice session this morning, during which he again topped the times, using the medium tyre.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli motorsport director: “The battle for pole between the two Mercedes drivers was stunning, with very little to chose between them right up to the end of qualifying on this amazing track. With a significant performance gap between the medium and soft compounds, and quite high degradation expected, there is plenty of scope for strategy here at Spa, with at least two pit stops anticipated for the majority of competitors. We’ve got a few drivers starting out of position due to penalties or other problems, so it’s going to be interesting to see how they tailor their strategies and use the tyres they have saved to move up through the field.”

The Pirelli strategy predictor:
The fastest strategy on paper for the 44-lap race is theoretically a two-stopper (start on soft, soft again on lap 15, medium on lap 30). However, some drivers might try a three-stop S/S/S/M sprint strategy to limit tyre degradation and gain track position – but this depends on individual patterns of tyre usage and traffic.

Pirelli facts of the day: Former World Champions Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso head into the Belgian Grand Prix with exactly the same number of points: 1778. They are also the drivers to have scored the most points of anyone in Formula One history (Lewis Hamilton is third on the all-time list, 90 points behind them). Alonso has started 243 Grands Prix and Vettel 149 – but the German scored most of his points after the scoring system was changed to award 25 points for a win (as opposed to 10).

 
Fastest compounds in FP3:
1 Hamilton 	1m48.984s Soft new
2 Rosberg 	1m49.482s Soft new
3 Vettel 	1m49.629s Soft new

Top 10 tyre use:
Hamilton 	1m47.197s Soft new
Rosberg 	1m47.655s Soft new
Bottas 		1m48.537s Soft new
Grosjean 	1m48.561s Soft new
Perez 		1m48.599s Soft new
Ricciardo 	1m48.639s Soft new
Massa 		1m48.685s Soft new
Maldonado 	1m48.754s Soft new
Vettel 		1m48.825s Soft new
Sainz 		1m49.771s Soft new
 

Pirelli Tyres

 

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