F1: Pirelli thinks Austrian GP will be a 2-stopper

–by Mark Cipolloni–

While yesterday’s Sprint race started wet and ended up in the dry, the race today is expected to be dry with temperatures considerably higher than Saturday, although not to the level we saw in FP1 on Friday morning.

Per Pirelli:

With just one free practice session, there is not that much data available with which to produce an extensive analysis of tire behavior over a long run, but we think the Soft will not really be used; thus the choice comes down to the Medium and the Hard.

On paper, the fastest strategy seems to be a two-stop, starting on the Medium, switching to Hard and then back to Medium. Or for those who have two sets of C3 available, another stint on the hardest tire.

The one-stop (Medium-Hard) could also be competitive, but looking at how last year’s race played out, it is a less attractive option than making two pit-stops.