Underused soft could mean step into unknown in Austrian GP

Teams had come into the Red Bull Ring weekend believing that the low-grip nature of the circuit would make Pirelli’s softest compounds the best option.

That is why most opted to fill up their allocation with the supersoft and ultrasoft – and minimise the selection of the soft compound.

But the higher than expected temperatures, allied to the increased grip from the track surface, have changed the situation – leading to a smaller performance gap than expected between the compounds.

Pirelli’s F1 racing manager Mario Isola said: “The delta we expected has in reality reduced.

“We were expecting something in the range of half a second between compounds. But the gap between ultrasoft and supersoft is 0.3 seconds, and the gap between the supersoft and the soft is more difficult to understand.

“[This weekend] the track surface has been quite hot, and the soft is the only compound that is high-working range, because the super and the ultra are low working range. This means the soft works well, the level of grip is good and the degradation is close to zero.

“This means the soft could be a choice for the race because, with the small delta and pace management, there is less difference between compounds. So the soft could become an interesting choice.”

What makes the situation unique is that teams did not bring many sets of the soft to the Austria weekend – so their understanding of it has been limited.

Indeed, neither pole position man Valtteri Bottas nor fellow front-row starter Sebastian Vettel have run it so far this weekend, as they were designated with just a single set for the weekend.

Their teammates Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen, as well as Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, have at least managed to evaluate the tyre in practice. They were allocated two sets for the weekend so were free to use one.

Strategy prediction

Pirelli’s strategy predictions are clear that a one-stop race is best – and it says the best option for anyone starting on the supersoft and the ultrasoft is to switch to the soft.

It says the quickest strategy route, which Lewis Hamilton could take, is a 26-lap run on the supersoft followed by a switch to the softs. The second quickest option, which is only slightly slower, is an 18-lap stint on the ultrasofts and then a switch to softs.

The dilemma teams face is whether the zero degradation of the soft will be worth any performance deficit compared to the supersoft for a likely 50-lap stint – something that has not yet been proven from data in Friday practice.

Isola added: “The soft is giving you more guarantees than the supersoft. Of course you can take the risk to run longer with the supersoft, but at some point the degradation is not linear so you start losing lap time.

“In this case, if you have a tyre that is more consistent like the soft and you know is giving you more guarantees, then you are not losing in terms of lap time and the degradation, so it makes sense to consider the soft.”

Despite Pirelli’s outlook on strategy, not every team is convinced that the soft will become the right choice for the race.

Force India’s technical director Andy Green believed that the degradation of the supersoft was small enough to be convinced it would be right for the race.

Asked about Pirelli’s view on the soft being a safer bet, he said: “It depends how safe you want to be. If you want to be able to do three race distances then, yes, it is very safe – but we only want to do one. The supersoft is fine for us.”

But the dilemma over tyre choice for the race could yet be made irrelevant amid the possibility that rain could affect the race.

Although Sunday has started with fairly clear skies, forecasts suggest that the air mass will become increasingly unsettled over the day and there is an 80 percent chance of showers during the race.