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Verstappen follows efficient Red Bull strategy, Perez also ruins that plan
Max Verstappen himself already said that Red Bull Racing are economising on tyres in Hungary. After the second free practice session, this was evident, as Verstappen came into action on only one tyre compound.
Verstappen on one tyre set in Hungary
Formula 1 are testing an alternative qualifying format at the Hungarian Grand Prix. This means there are fewer tyres available throughout the weekend, and so teams have to be more economical with their tyre compounds. However, after the first free practice session was a washout, many teams still chose to do many laps in FP2.
At Red Bull Racing, they visibly took a different approach. Verstappen and Sergio Perez came out much later than the rest, and for good reason. Indeed, afterwards, Verstappen revealed that Red Bull wanted to economise on tyres, a story later confirmed by Helmut Marko.
Looking at the tyres used during the session, it is noticeable that Verstappen only used one compound during the second free practice session. The Dutchman started on a new set of soft tyres before using the same tyre again in his next two stints. In total, Verstappen recorded nine laps.
Perez ruins Red Bull's plan
Verstappen is not the only one from the grid to do this, as Oscar Piastri also only came out on one set. The Australian did so on the medium tyre, although in Piastri's case it did not seem out of luxury (stood inside for a long time due to suspected technical problems). Indeed, teammate Lando Norris did come out on two different tyre compounds and achieved the second-fastest time.
Verstappen did do all he could to save tyres for Saturday and Sunday. Red Bull Racing had the same plan with Perez, but he wasted a set of tyres with a major flat spot under braking, much to Marko's annoyance. As a result, Perez had to use a second set anyway.
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