F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Hamilton braced for 'tricky' first stint on ultrasofts

X (Twitter)X (Twitter)
FacebookFacebook
WhatsappWhatsapp

Pole sitter Lewis Hamilton says he expects his opening stint in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix to be “tricky”, with the Mercedes man having to start on the high-degradation ultrasoft tyre.

F1 drivers must line up on the grid with the compound they used to set their fastest times in Q2. While Mercedes sent both Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg on the purple-marked tyre, rivals Ferrari and Red Bull opted to go on the harder, red-banded supersoft compound.

Quizzed on his team’s strategy, Hamilton initially said: “I just did what I was told. Our strategists understand the ultrasoft is the better tyre. We had the supersoft available.

“I’m assuming they saw the Ferrari were going out [on the supersoft] and thought we might try and go out and see if we can do a time even though there is a time delta between the two.”

Neither Hamilton nor Rosberg could improve on their ultrasoft flyer as rain started to appear in the latest stages of Q2.

When it was confirmed to the Briton that the Ferrari and Red Bull drivers would indeed start on the supersoft tyre, the triple world champion replied:

“That’s quite a bad thing then. I think the ultrasoft is not a good tyre for the race. I mean it’s going to be a struggle to get a lot of laps on it. The strategy will be interesting tomorrow.

“Obviously, they’ll start behind so hopefully I’ll have a bit of an advantage at the start from the ultrasoft tyre. In practice, my tyres lasted for four laps. I think for Nico, it latest eight or nine laps. It’s definitely going to be tricky but we did the best we can.”

QUALIFYING REPORT: Hamilton on pole from Hulkenberg and Button in Austria

AS IT HAPPENED: Austrian Grand Prix - Qualifying

F1i Classic: Penske's emotional Austrian GP win

Silbermann says ... Gin is the only tonic

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Julien Billiotte

Recent Posts

Newey reveals unexpected cost of F1’s budget cap

Legendary F1 designer Adrian Newey has made a striking revelation about the sport’s financial landscape,…

8 hours ago

Williams already enjoying ‘positive momentum’ from Sainz input

Carlos Sainz's arrival at Williams is already proving to be a catalyst for positive change,…

9 hours ago

Vasseur: Ferrari must take risks and hit the ground running

Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur has laid down the gauntlet ahead of the 2025 Formula…

11 hours ago

A tribute to a talented fallen F1 hopeful

Roger Williamson - the young British F1 hopeful who was lost to motorsport in a…

12 hours ago

Horner: Red Bull-Ford powertrain debut a ‘monumental moment’

The clock is ticking. In just twelve months, the roar of a Red Bull-Ford powertrain…

13 hours ago

Iconic Mercedes W196 R becomes most valuable F1 car ever sold

It’s not every day that an F1 car fetches a price that could buy an…

15 hours ago