Alternate strategy and fast stops earn Red Bull points

2015 Italian Grand Prix tyre strategies and pit stops

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With a swathe of power unit penalties sending both RB11s to the rear of the grid at Monza, Red Bull had to get creative to get both their drivers into the points.

With strategic options very limited at Monza where a one-stop strategy is the norm, Red Bull had little choice other than to run the opposite to everyone else by starting both their drivers on the medium compound tyre.

Daniel Ricciardo was the last of the drivers to make his first pit stop – staying out until lap 30 by which time he’d risen from the back row to seventh place.

The other RB11 of Daniil Kvyat had already pitted three laps earlier and been treated to the fastest stop of the race by the Red Bull pit crew. Ricciardo’s visit to the pits took 0.375s longer, but was still quick than any other team managed.

He came back out in tenth and gained one place thanks to Nico Rosberg’s retirement. On the last lap Ricciardo took advantage of Marcus Ericsson, who’d been stuck behind the struggling Nico Hulkenberg for several laps, and passed the Sauber driver for eighth.

“It was sweet,” said Ricciard afterwards. “I am very happy with the chassis, the car was handling really well, and we were able to fight with a Ferrari and a Mercedes-powered car on a track where we lost out a lot on the straights.”

2015 Italian Grand Prix tyre strategies

The tyre strategies for each driver:

Stint 1Stint 2Stint 3
Lewis HamiltonSoft (26)Medium (27)
Sebastian VettelSoft (25)Medium (28)
Felipe MassaSoft (19)Medium (34)
Valtteri BottasSoft (22)Medium (31)
Kimi RaikkonenSoft (28)Medium (25)
Sergio PerezSoft (23)Medium (30)
Nico HulkenbergSoft (18)Medium (34)
Daniel RicciardoMedium (30)Soft (22)
Marcus EricssonSoft (20)Medium (32)
Daniil KvyatMedium (27)Soft (25)
Carlos Sainz JnrMedium (10)Soft (20)Soft (22)
Max VerstappenSoft (19)Medium (14)Soft (19)
Felipe NasrSoft (1)Medium (23)Medium (28)
Jenson ButtonSoft (25)Medium (27)
Will StevensSoft (26)Medium (25)
Roberto MerhiSoft (27)Medium (24)
Nico RosbergSoft (18)Medium (32)
Fernando AlonsoMedium (28)Soft (19)
Romain GrosjeanSoft (1)
Pastor MaldonadoSoft (1)

2015 Italian Grand Prix pit stop times

How long each driver’s pit stops took:

DriverTeamPit stop timeGapOn lap
1Daniil KvyatRed Bull23.88427
2Daniel RicciardoRed Bull24.2590.37530
3Sergio PerezForce India24.2810.39723
4Nico HulkenbergForce India24.2860.40218
5Jenson ButtonMcLaren24.3100.42625
6Fernando AlonsoMcLaren24.3300.44628
7Sebastian VettelFerrari24.3400.45625
8Lewis HamiltonMercedes24.3680.48426
9Kimi RaikkonenFerrari24.4420.55828
10Nico RosbergMercedes24.6570.77318
11Carlos Sainz JnrToro Rosso24.7360.85230
12Marcus EricssonSauber24.8420.95820
13Max VerstappenToro Rosso24.9381.05433
14Felipe MassaWilliams25.2071.32319
15Felipe NasrSauber25.2821.39824
16Max VerstappenToro Rosso25.3181.43419
17Valtteri BottasWilliams25.5361.65222
18Felipe NasrSauber25.7611.8771
19Roberto MerhiManor26.4352.55127
20Will StevensManor29.3825.49826
21Carlos Sainz JnrToro Rosso30.3586.47410

2015 Italian Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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5 comments on “Alternate strategy and fast stops earn Red Bull points”

  1. I didn’t do the math but I was expecting Ferrari to put kimi on a two stop and try to blaze up behind the pack just as they were taking their one stop and then gap them before his second stop. He was going to burn up his tires trying to pass people in the first stint anyway.

    1. i don’t think the performance difference would have been enough to warrant the extra (very long) pit stop. i’m glad this was a highlights race for the bbc; i don’t think i would have stayed awake throughout the live one.

      1. oh dear, pretty much sums up the sorry state of F1 when comments like that are made about Monza!!! Oh, and you’re not wrong. It only got exciting those few last laps and the subsequent 2-3 hours or so due to the type pressure fiasco. That’s one good thing about Sky’s F1 coverage, they can carry on after the race cos they’ve got sod all else to put on the channel…

    2. Maybe at a different track, but pit stops at Monza under a green flag are way too costly.

  2. TR tried that, but it did not really work. Their speed seemed OK for some points, but they could’t bridge the time lost during the extra stop (plus drive-through for VES). @dmw

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