Saturday: the two-stop strategy is the most likely for Pirelli

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel is now the third Formula 1 driver with the most success in qualifying, joining Jim Clark and Alain Prost, with 33 pole positions. It was thanks to a time of 1:38.086 with the Pirelli P Zero Yellow soft compound that Vettel secured his pole position of the day in Valencia. Only Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna have a more impressive record in F1. This is Vettel’s third consecutive pole on the Spanish street circuit.

Only the Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne, the two HRTs, and the sole Marussia of Charles Pic on track started Q1 on soft tires, in temperatures of 25°C in the air and 43°C on the track. Williams driver Pastor Maldonado was the fastest on the softs, with Nico Rosberg achieving the best lap wearing the medium compound, with the third-fastest time.

In Q2, everyone wore soft tires, except for the two Ferraris, which started the session on mediums before switching to the fastest compound. Heikki Kovalainen, also on soft tires at the end of Q1 with his Caterham, qualified in the last moments of Q2 and will start 16th on the grid. This is the team’s best starting position. The top seven who reached Q3, including the fastest time set by Romain Grosjean (Lotus), were within one-tenth of a second, making this session the closest in history!

The top 10 of Q3 lined up on soft tires to set a benchmark time. After Grosjean, then Maldonado, it was Vettel’s turn to appear at the top of the monitors with more than three-tenths of a second ahead of his closest pursuer. In the final seconds, Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) managed to secure the second position on the grid, ahead of Maldonado.

During the morning, it was Jenson Button’s McLaren that topped the time sheet with a lap time of 1:38.562 on soft tires during qualifying simulation. Before that, most of the drivers had tried the medium tires, with Vettel being the fastest on that compound.

With about half a second difference between the two tires, strategy will be extremely important for the race. A two-stop strategy is the most likely option for the leaders, with the soft tires expected to perform at their best for 15 to 18 laps, and the medium tires lasting between 20 and 22 laps.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli Motorsport Director: Today’s qualifying was probably the closest we have ever seen on this circuit. Most notably the second session was absolutely incredible, with seven drivers within a tenth of a second. We witnessed a superb lap from Sebastian Vettel, who took pole for the third time this season, with a three-tenths lead, while everyone else was fighting by hundredths. With even hotter weather conditions expected for tomorrow, all drivers will have degradation management in mind, particularly on the softest compound.

The tyres of the Top 10 in qualifying:

– Vettel: 1:38.086 – Tendre

– Hamilton: 1:38.410 – Tendre

– Maldonado: 1:38.475 – Tendre

– Grosjean: 1:38.505 – Tendre

– Räikkönen: 1:38.513 – Tendre

– Rosberg: 1:38.623 – Tendre

– Kobayashi: 1:38.741 – Tendre

– Hülkenberg: 1:38.752 – Tendre

– Button: 1:38.801 – Tendre

– Di Resta: 1:38.992 – Tendre