General
Isola: "That's why I expect the choice of Verstappen to be beneficial"
- GPblog.com
The choice of Red Bull Racing to let Max Verstappen start on the mediums was seen by many as a good move. This allows them to use strategy to attack the reigning world champions in the race. Mario Isola, Pirelli's top man, also expects that Verstappen will have a significant advantage in the race.
"We know from last year that the medium preferred the top teams to start the race. This track requires a lot of grip from the rear tyres and is therefore heavy on the rear tyres", Isola said in an interview with MotorLAT. "Today's temperatures are even higher than they were during qualifying. The track temperature will even rise to about 50 degrees", Isola expects.
More room for strategy Red Bull
"That's why I expect the choice of Max to be an advantage, especially if the weather forecasts are equal to Saturday or even warmer". Although the race will most likely be a one-stop strategy, Verstappen will probably still get the advantage. "If you look at the different strategies on paper, soft-hard and medium-hard are very close to each other. So there's not a big difference."
So although there is no advantage in the strategy itself, Red Bull probably has more breathing room around the planning of the strategy. "However, when you start on the medium, you are much more flexible in planning the strategy," Isola concludes.