The Japanese Grand Prix was tipped by many to be the first dry race in a while where drivers would need to make more than one pit stop.
So what changed? The early Safety Car period was significant. It helped push drivers towards sticking to a one-stop strategy. With the midfield being compressed by the Safety Car, the front runners knew an early pit stop would leave them stuck in traffic.
On top of that the amount of time spent behind the Safety Car also reduced the demand on the tyres for several laps, making it easier for drivers to eke them out to a one-stopper.
Even so some of them experienced substantial tyre degradation at the end of the race. Max Verstappen experienced particularly severe front-left tyre wear.
2017 Japanese Grand Prix tyre strategies
The tyre strategies for each driver:
Stint 1 | Stint 2 | Stint 3 | Stint 4 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lewis Hamilton | Super soft (22) | Soft (31) | ||
Max Verstappen | Super soft (21) | Soft (32) | ||
Daniel Ricciardo | Super soft (25) | Soft (28) | ||
Valtteri Bottas | Soft (30) | Super soft (23) | ||
Kimi Raikkonen | Soft (28) | Super soft (25) | ||
Esteban Ocon | Super soft (20) | Soft (33) | ||
Sergio Perez | Super soft (21) | Soft (32) | ||
Kevin Magnussen | Super soft (19) | Soft (34) | ||
Romain Grosjean | Super soft (23) | Soft (30) | ||
Felipe Massa | Super soft (17) | Soft (35) | ||
Fernando Alonso | Super soft (25) | Soft (27) | ||
Jolyon Palmer | Soft (39) | Super soft (13) | ||
Pierre Gasly | Super soft (22) | Soft (17) | Super soft (13) | |
Stoffel Vandoorne | Super soft (9) | Soft (25) | Super soft (18) | |
Pascal Wehrlein | Soft (2) | Super soft (1) | Soft (22) | Soft (26) |
Lance Stroll | Super soft (4) | Soft (31) | Super soft (10) | |
Nico Hulkenberg | Soft (38) | Super soft (2) | ||
Marcus Ericsson | Soft (7) | |||
Sebastian Vettel | Super soft (4) | |||
Carlos Sainz Jnr |
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2017 Japanese Grand Prix pit stop times
How long each driver’s pit stops took:
Driver | Team | Pit stop time | Gap | On lap | |
1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 22.620 | 21 | |
2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 22.724 | 0.104 | 22 |
3 | Lance Stroll | Williams | 22.736 | 0.116 | 35 |
4 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 22.781 | 0.161 | 23 |
5 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 22.876 | 0.256 | 30 |
6 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 22.956 | 0.336 | 17 |
7 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 23.065 | 0.445 | 19 |
8 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 23.199 | 0.579 | 38 |
9 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 23.344 | 0.724 | 22 |
10 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 23.399 | 0.779 | 34 |
11 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 23.430 | 0.810 | 9 |
12 | Lance Stroll | Williams | 23.475 | 0.855 | 4 |
13 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 23.634 | 1.014 | 21 |
14 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 23.699 | 1.079 | 28 |
15 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 23.796 | 1.176 | 25 |
16 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | 24.078 | 1.458 | 20 |
17 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 24.413 | 1.793 | 39 |
18 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber | 24.424 | 1.804 | 2 |
19 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 24.636 | 2.016 | 25 |
20 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber | 24.918 | 2.298 | 3 |
21 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber | 24.952 | 2.332 | 25 |
22 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 25.618 | 2.998 | 39 |
2017 Japanese Grand Prix
- 2017 Japanese Grand Prix Predictions Championship results
- 2017 Japanese Grand Prix team radio transcript
- 2017 Japanese Grand Prix Star Performers
- “It’s been a pleasure”: Japanese GP team radio highlights
- Hamilton on course to equal Schumacher’s 91 wins record in 2020
F1 in Figures (@f1infigures)
8th October 2017, 16:19
As always, the drivers were nursing their tires in order to get away with just one stop. Two stops may have been faster, but also much riskier, so one stop was the preferred strategy.