During the final laps of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton suggested to Mercedes they could use Valtteri Bottas to help him catch up to Sebastian Vettel.
Bottas was busy getting stuck into Lance Stroll, however, so it didn’t happen. And nor, it seems, will Mercedes use such tactics this weekend.
“It makes no sense for Valtteri to slow down,” added Hamilton. “That will not be the case. It makes sense for him to push as hard as he can to win the race.”
Hamilton’s five-place grid penalty means he will start from eighth on the grid. He needs a repeat of his superb lap one at this track three years ago, when he leapt from ninth to fourth, to ensure he is in content for a podium finish or better.
Starting on the harder super-soft compound tyres will make that more difficult as the other drivers in the top ten will be on ultra-softs which should come up to temperature more quickly. The good news for Hamilton is this will allow him to run what Pirelli believes is the quickest available strategy.
According to F1’s official tyre supplier the fastest route to the end of the race would be one stint on super-softs and one on softs. This they believe will be marginally quicker than the ultra-soft/soft route which the rest of the top ten are most likely to use.
A key determining factor will be how long the ultra-soft runners stay out for. Hamilton will be looking to run to around lap 26, some eight laps later than the others. But if the ultra-softs hold up better than expected – and they often do – Hamilton’s runners may be able to stretch that first stint long enough to negate his advantage, especially if he gets stuck in traffic. And if the ultra-softs do go that far, they can run the super-softs to the end.
“I don’t think it’s going to make a big difference if I’m really honest,” said Hamilton when asked if starting on the super-soft might give him an advantage. “It’s a slower tyre so, I think in the first stint, it’s just about length.”
Of course the strategy questions become simpler for Hamilton if he’s able to deploy the Mercedes grunt to make up positions. Note the times in sector one, the prime spot for overtaking: Mercedes are first and second, and the next-quickest car has a Mercedes power unit.
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Qualifying times in full
| Driver | Car | Q1 | Q2 (vs Q1) | Q3 (vs Q2) | |
| 1 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’05.760 | 1’04.316 (-1.444) | 1’04.251 (-0.065) |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’05.585 | 1’04.772 (-0.813) | 1’04.293 (-0.479) |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’05.064 | 1’04.800 (-0.264) | 1’04.424 (-0.376) |
| 4 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’05.148 | 1’05.004 (-0.144) | 1’04.779 (-0.225) |
| 5 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1’05.854 | 1’05.161 (-0.693) | 1’04.896 (-0.265) |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1’05.779 | 1’04.948 (-0.831) | 1’04.983 (+0.035) |
| 7 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1’05.902 | 1’05.319 (-0.583) | 1’05.480 (+0.161) |
| 8 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1’05.975 | 1’05.435 (-0.540) | 1’05.605 (+0.170) |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | 1’06.033 | 1’05.550 (-0.483) | 1’05.674 (+0.124) |
| 10 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Toro Rosso | 1’05.675 | 1’05.544 (-0.131) | 1’05.726 (+0.182) |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1’06.174 | 1’05.597 (-0.577) | |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1’06.158 | 1’05.602 (-0.556) | |
| 13 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 1’06.316 | 1’05.741 (-0.575) | |
| 14 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1’05.990 | 1’05.884 (-0.106) | |
| 15 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1’06.143 | ||
| 16 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1’06.345 | ||
| 17 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1’06.534 | ||
| 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams | 1’06.608 | ||
| 19 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1’06.857 | ||
| 20 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber | 1’07.011 |
Sector times
| Driver | Sector 1 | Sector 2 | Sector 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valtteri Bottas | 16.350 (1) | 28.314 (2) | 19.394 (2) |
| Sebastian Vettel | 16.582 (5) | 28.229 (1) | 19.482 (3) |
| Lewis Hamilton | 16.358 (2) | 28.555 (5) | 19.356 (1) |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 16.540 (4) | 28.459 (3) | 19.728 (7) |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 16.622 (8) | 28.682 (6) | 19.521 (4) |
| Max Verstappen | 16.617 (7) | 28.551 (4) | 19.564 (5) |
| Romain Grosjean | 16.727 (13) | 28.951 (13) | 19.585 (6) |
| Sergio Perez | 16.503 (3) | 28.878 (10) | 19.953 (11) |
| Esteban Ocon | 16.587 (6) | 28.927 (12) | 20.027 (12) |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | 16.693 (10) | 28.723 (7) | 20.033 (14) |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 16.677 (9) | 28.904 (11) | 19.945 (9) |
| Fernando Alonso | 16.828 (16) | 28.773 (8) | 19.889 (8) |
| Stoffel Vandoorne | 16.894 (18) | 28.845 (9) | 19.946 (10) |
| Daniil Kvyat | 16.702 (11) | 29.014 (14) | 20.049 (15) |
| Kevin Magnussen | 16.857 (17) | 29.141 (16) | 20.032 (13) |
| Jolyon Palmer | 16.777 (15) | 29.093 (15) | 20.310 (18) |
| Felipe Massa | 16.771 (14) | 29.311 (18) | 20.278 (16) |
| Lance Stroll | 16.706 (12) | 29.228 (17) | 20.403 (19) |
| Marcus Ericsson | 16.961 (19) | 29.429 (20) | 20.303 (17) |
| Pascal Wehrlein | 17.063 (20) | 29.412 (19) | 20.500 (20) |
Speed trap
| Pos | Driver | Car | Engine | Speed (kph/mph) | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | Mercedes | 328.1 (203.9) | |
| 2 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | Mercedes | 327.5 (203.5) | -0.6 |
| 3 | Felipe Massa | Williams | Mercedes | 326.9 (203.1) | -1.2 |
| 4 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | Renault | 326.8 (203.1) | -1.3 |
| 5 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | Mercedes | 326.7 (203.0) | -1.4 |
| 6 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | Ferrari | 325.8 (202.4) | -2.3 |
| 7 | Lance Stroll | Williams | Mercedes | 325.4 (202.2) | -2.7 |
| 8 | Sergio Perez | Force India | Mercedes | 325.2 (202.1) | -2.9 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | Renault | 323.8 (201.2) | -4.3 |
| 10 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | Ferrari | 322.7 (200.5) | -5.4 |
| 11 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | TAG Heuer | 322.6 (200.5) | -5.5 |
| 12 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | Renault | 322.3 (200.3) | -5.8 |
| 13 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | Ferrari | 322.0 (200.1) | -6.1 |
| 14 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | Ferrari | 321.9 (200.0) | -6.2 |
| 15 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | TAG Heuer | 321.7 (199.9) | -6.4 |
| 16 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Toro Rosso | Renault | 321.3 (199.6) | -6.8 |
| 17 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | Ferrari | 318.3 (197.8) | -9.8 |
| 18 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber | Ferrari | 316.6 (196.7) | -11.5 |
| 19 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | Honda | 316.0 (196.4) | -12.1 |
| 20 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | Honda | 315.1 (195.8) | -13.0 |
Drivers remaining tyres
| Driver | Team | Soft | Super-soft | Ultra-soft | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Used | New | Used | New | Used | ||
| Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Sergio Perez | Force India | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Esteban Ocon | Force India | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Felipe Massa | Williams | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Lance Stroll | Williams | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | Toro Rosso | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Romain Grosjean | Haas | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
Over to you
Will Bottas claim his second win? Can Hamilton limit the damage to Vettel in the championship? And how will the Red Bull pair get on at their home race?
Share your views on the Austrian Grand Prix in the comments.
2017 Austrian Grand Prix
- Second Driver of the Weekend win for Bottas
- Modest score for underwhelming Austrian GP
- 2017 Austrian Grand Prix Predictions Championship results
- 2017 Austrian Grand Prix Star Performers
- “It looked like Valtteri jumped the start”: Austrian GP race team radio highlights
Arn
8th July 2017, 21:59
They dont need it, vettel will win ahead of bottas :)
iFelix (@ifelix)
8th July 2017, 22:46
Glad to hear this. It was pathetic of Hamilton to ask for it in Baku.
mog
8th July 2017, 22:46
From the report here, it doesn’t look like he denied it though. He could have just said “no, I am going for the win!”.
iFelix (@ifelix)
8th July 2017, 22:55
True! Would be stupid if Mercedes. If Ferarros are 2nd and 3rd after the first corner and Bottas tries to back up the pack, they could split strategies by giving say Raikonnen the undercut and Vettel over it or vice versa
sato113 (@sato113)
8th July 2017, 22:53
All depends on the weather… ;)
OOliver
9th July 2017, 3:04
And any safety car deployment
Racerdude7730
9th July 2017, 3:30
Of course they won’t say that out loud. That would be stupid but of course it’s the real plan. The only way it’s not the plan is if Lewis gets to far behind…… honestly it’s prob not the plan but someone had talked about it in the team
Todfod (@todfod)
9th July 2017, 6:50
The best way that valterri can contribute to Hamiltons wdc chase is by denying Vettel a win. Holding up Vettel is just too much of a risk. Hamilton will have to work his way up the field and battle Sev himself.
HUHHII (@huhhii)
9th July 2017, 8:50
A win today from Valtteri makes it a 3-way battle. He has already retired once and it’s likely HAM and VET will have DNF too at some point. And when that happens, Bottas will be very close.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
9th July 2017, 9:06
Yes, I don’t like the way all the media is stating it is a 2 way fight to the title with Vettel and Hamilton. Lets remember Bottas has had a retirement and neither of these 2 have and drivers don’t usually have none in a season due to problems. If Bottas keeps performing well and also improves a little and Vettel and Hamilton have some bad luck, there is certainly potential for Bottas to be in the fight for the championship.
Sundar Srinivas Harish
9th July 2017, 9:57
Hamilton has already had a spot of bad luck, Vettel has already done something stupid and Ferrari have already run a bad strategy. Bottas should capitalize on this some more and avoid doing what he did in China in case of rain. And I hope Merc gets the tire pressure right this time! XD
petebaldwin (@)
9th July 2017, 11:48
@huhhii – Totally agree. Same as how after Monaco, Mercedes suddenly had a weak car and Hamilton said it would be “very difficult to win the Championship” from that far behind.
We’re not even half way yet! Let’s see how the next 5 or 6 races play out before writing people off.
Dan Rooke (@geekzilla9000)
9th July 2017, 9:45
I agree with @todfod. Bottas needs to focus on the win, as a racer that’s what he should be doing, and (currently) denying Vettel the win does Lewis more help than trying to back Vettel up which just risks giving him a gift-wrapped overtake.
Baron
9th July 2017, 10:31
Of course he won’t. There’s no need to hold up someone you’ve eliminated in the first or second corner.
petebaldwin (@)
9th July 2017, 11:45
Well one thing is for certain, if that is their plan, they won’t admit to it before the race starts!
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