Red Bull pole in yet another qualifying round. But, Max Verstappen’s run was not simple. At least he avoided any technical issues that this time plagued teammate Sergio Perez, who was forced to withdraw in Q1 due to stage gravel. Yet in Australia, the RB19 wasn’t as well-balanced as it appeared to be in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Although Verstappen’s lead over second-place George Russell was larger than Sergio Perez’s lead over the second-fastest in Jeddah, it is always Verstappen’s pace that we must use as the Red Bull from the index. There is a good chance that if Perez hadn’t experienced his mechanical failure in Jeddah, Verstappen would have been much more comfortable on the pole.
The advantage of Red Bull was significantly diminished here when one looks past the specifics of each of the three qualifying sessions to date.
Why should this track have been so difficult, given that Albert Park has four DRS zones and that Red Bull gains a significant advantage from any DRS running? It almost obviously has to do with a challenging tire picture on a very cool day at a circuit that had its surface redone last year, and how you structured your run strategy around that difficulty.
The track surface was only 21C as Q1 got underway, shortly after a downpour. It had only gradually risen to 24C by Q3. On Friday evening, torrential rain had swept away a large portion of the customary rubber build-up. It made the front tire warm-up more difficult than usual because of the new surface.
The tire’s mechanical grip is constrained by a smooth micro-surface that is typical of recently resurfaced tracks. Its chemical grip is constrained by low track temperatures and little rubber accumulation. As a result, the front tires had very little stress, little grip, and a delayed warm-up. The extremely tight final few corners during the build-up to the lap made it more difficult to get them hot enough so you could be sure you would have the grip into Turn 1 on your flying lap. If you push through there too forcefully, you run the danger of breaking the front tires and overheating the tread before the core has warmed and become sufficiently flexible.
It was difficult to get both axles ready and in the working window, according to Simone Berra of Pirelli. “Having a prep lap proved to be advantageous. The tires were receiving enough energy, so once they reached operating temperature, they performed as expected.
The C4 is a rather peaky tire, therefore there are occasions when it’s preferable to have a lower peak but a more constant behavior throughout the lap. You received this as a result of the practice lap. Nonetheless, if you gave it your all on the first lap out of the pits, it was feasible to do a quick lap. In this manner, you get more peak grip, but it is more challenging to maintain temperature control to obtain a net benefit across the lap.
In Q3, the decision was whether to perform the standard fast-cool-fast order or a prep lap followed by a fast lap before stopping for your new set of tires. Mercedes initially went with option 1, whereas Red Bull went for option 2.
The Red Bull method had two potential risks: either damaging the fronts by pushing too hard on a final couple of out-lap corners or not pushing hard enough and not having them warmed up by Turn 1. Additionally, there was no real way to tell on your first flyer if you’d hit it just right between those two until you reached the turn. Moreover, using the fast-cool-fast technique would require more fuel, resulting in heavier first and second flyers and worn-out tires for the second.
You had more time to fit in your second fresh tire run and locate a suitable space in the traffic if you did it the opposite way around, with a build lap followed by a single push lap. But, you missed out on the tire’s maximum grip.
On his first Q3 lap, Verstappen immediately launched a full attack, and his understeer through the final two corners was apparent. It wasn’t a good lap; it was 0.5 seconds slower than his build-lap time from Q2. After a smooth lap, he attempted it again with the same setup, and while it was better, it was still slower than he’d gone in Q2 and, in retrospect, wouldn’t have been good enough for pole.
While the clock was ticking down, he pitted, had his fresh set installed, and decided that he would only complete one push lap for his first flyer since otherwise he would have run out of time. This was the pole lap, which was 0.3 seconds quicker than his Q2 time. Yet it wasn’t the typical, cozy Red Bull display of power.
Verstappen stated, “With all these 90-degree turns, a short moment costs you a lot of momentum. “Some tunes make it clear what needs to be done. Everything was a little more difficult here.
A window that is far more difficult to access and is less optimized. Mercedes undoubtedly made the most of its car’s more constrained performance by using the lower maintenance tire run technique—a build lap and a flyer, repeated twice. This weekend has included tires a lot, according to Russell. “Our pace on the final lap was somewhat unexpected; we were only 0.25 seconds off when we had previously been one second off.
“The car’s sensation is not a restriction. Simply put, we need a little more downforce.
“Today, we maximized the job…
Our comprehension of the automobile is getting better. You make a significant jump here once you find the sweet spot for your tires. Tires are always the topic.
Just that arbitrary variable. Not everyone is catching up to Red Bull in this.