2017 Brazilian Grand Prix tyre strategies and pit stops

2017 Brazilian Grand Prix

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A one-stop strategy was the way to go in Brazil despite the seriously hot conditions at Interlagos.

Brazilian Grand Prix in pictures
Only four cars started the race on the soft compound tyres and the medium wasn’t seen all day. The early Safety Car period made tyre degradation less of a concern for most drivers.

After losing ground at the start, Sergio Perez tried to get back in the fight by running longer than the others, almost reaching half-distance on his super-softs. But it wasn’t enough to help him pass Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso once he got back on track.

The only drivers who deviated from a one-stop strategy did so because of specific circumstances: Either being forced to because of damage (such as Lance Stroll) or because they had enough of a gap over their closest pursuer to make a pit stop without losing a position (Max Verstappen).

2017 Brazilian Grand Prix tyre strategies

The tyre strategies for each driver:

Stint 1Stint 2Stint 3
Sebastian VettelSuper soft (28)Soft (43)
Valtteri BottasSuper soft (27)Soft (44)
Kimi RaikkonenSuper soft (29)Soft (42)
Lewis HamiltonSoft (43)Super soft (28)
Max VerstappenSuper soft (28)Soft (34)Super soft (9)
Daniel RicciardoSoft (1)Soft (42)Super soft (28)
Felipe MassaSuper soft (27)Soft (44)
Fernando AlonsoSuper soft (28)Soft (43)
Sergio PerezSuper soft (35)Soft (36)
Nico HulkenbergSuper soft (30)Soft (40)
Carlos Sainz JnrSuper soft (31)Soft (39)
Pierre GaslySoft (44)Super soft (26)
Marcus EricssonSoft (44)Super soft (26)
Pascal WehrleinSuper soft (1)Soft (69)
Romain GrosjeanSuper soft (1)Soft (47)Super soft (21)
Lance StrollSuper soft (28)Soft (39)Super soft (2)
Brendon HartleySuper soft (27)Soft (13)
Esteban OconSuper soft
Stoffel VandoorneSuper soft
Kevin MagnussenSuper soft

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2017 Brazilian Grand Prix pit stop times

How long each driver’s pit stops took:

DriverTeamPit stop timeGapOn lap
1Lance StrollWilliams22.48628
2Max VerstappenRed Bull22.6440.15862
3Sebastian VettelFerrari22.7360.25028
4Valtteri BottasMercedes23.0640.57827
5Lewis HamiltonMercedes23.1210.63543
6Kimi RaikkonenFerrari23.1700.68429
7Max VerstappenRed Bull23.1800.69428
8Felipe MassaWilliams23.2750.78927
9Sergio PerezForce India23.2750.78935
10Fernando AlonsoMcLaren23.3420.85628
11Daniel RicciardoRed Bull23.4840.99843
12Carlos Sainz JnrRenault23.5501.06431
13Pierre GaslyToro Rosso23.7481.26244
14Brendon HartleyToro Rosso23.8301.34427
15Nico HulkenbergRenault24.0541.56830
16Marcus EricssonSauber24.1641.67844
17Lance StrollWilliams24.7562.27067
18Romain GrosjeanHaas25.8453.3591
19Daniel RicciardoRed Bull25.9463.4601
20Pascal WehrleinSauber26.4393.9531
21Romain GrosjeanHaas34.43811.95248

2017 Brazilian 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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2 comments on “2017 Brazilian Grand Prix tyre strategies and pit stops”

  1. I wonder why Pérez’s strategy didn’t allow him to leapfrog Massa.

    1. From what I remember watching the gaps, the only “good” time for PER to pit was either the same lap or one after MAS, when there was just barely enough space for him to tuck in a few seconds back of MAS and not in a pack of dirty air. Force India expected too much of those old supersofts, (rubber naming suggestion: Hardest (HT), Hard (H), Medium (M), Soft (S), Softest (ST),) and there was still Alonso’s dirty air slowing Pérez down while those behind him filled the gap which would’ve given Checo clean air for the first few laps of his stint.

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