2014 Hungarian Grand Prix F1: Summary of Strategies

Pirelli’s predictions before the race were obviously swept away by the arrival of rain that fell before the Grand Prix, significantly wetting the track and, above all, making the use of the two slick tire compounds optional. As a result, several strategies emerged.

Let’s first note that all the drivers started with intermediate tires and that almost all of them changed tires on the 8th and 9th laps, which coincided with the entry of the first safety car following Marcus Ericsson’s accident. This was also the point in the race when the track had dried enough to allow for slick tires. From there, two main strategies emerged.

2 stops

Of the 16 drivers who finished, nine made only two stops. This rather conservative strategy led to a fairly wide variety of combinations. Thus, the Ferrari drivers – with Alonso having a final stint of 32 laps on soft tires –, Adrian Sutil, and Max Chilton chose to follow two stints on soft tires after intermediates.

For the other five who stopped only once after the first restart, the strategy was identical but with mixed results: Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Jean-Eric Vergne, Kevin Magnussen, and Daniil Kvyat all did a second stint on softs before finishing with medium tires. While this choice likely helped the Mercedes driver secure a podium finish, towards the end of the race, his tires seemed to struggle, particularly during acceleration.

3 stops

Seven drivers chose a three-stop strategy. Among them, the race winner, with an aggressive race, using only soft tires. The key to Daniel Ricciardo’s race—apart from the successful timing of the safety car entry—was the management of the third stint during which he completed 31 laps on soft tires, without losing too much time, allowing himself a final stop that sealed his victory against two competitors on very worn sets.

On the other side of success, Nico Rosberg, one of the big losers of the first safety car, employed the same strategy, achieving a very fast final stint that allowed him to come back within striking distance of Alonso, and especially Hamilton, whom he couldn’t overtake. Among the drivers who only used soft tires, there were also Pastor Maldonado and Jules Bianchi, who collided around the 15th lap.

Finally, the other three drivers with three stops are the two Williams and Jenson Button. The latter mainly paid the price for McLaren’s gamble because, although he did pit during the first safety car, unlike his teammate, it was only to switch to new intermediate tires, which quickly lost their usefulness after the restart. On the Williams side, Massa surprised by completing his last two stints on medium tires, which allowed him to secure a rather satisfying top 5 finish.