How 'tyre master' Verstappen blew away Mercedes' tactics

It would all work out in the end Lewis Hamilton was constantly told over the team radio. It just didn't work out for Hamilton, but it did for Max Verstappen. The Dutchman drove to victory in a phenomenal stint. GPblog analyses where Verstappen managed to win the race.

Mercedes chooses a different strategy

Just before the start of the race, the tyre choices were announced. Indeed, Mercedes had chosen to start on medium tyres, while Red Bull Racing and Ferrari had their drivers start on soft tyres. As a result, it promised to be a tactical joust.

On the soft tyres, Verstappen got away well and with that advantage, the Dutchman maintained his leading position into the first corner. Hamilton and George Russell fought amongst themselves for second place and Hamilton emerged victorious. Meanwhile, after one lap, Verstappen had drawn a gap of 1.4 seconds.

With Verstappen and Hamilton, we got another fine duel between the 2021 title rivals and drivers who are very similar. On the medium tyre, Hamilton kept up but never got within DRS distance of Verstappen. For the Dutchman, the trick was to keep his soft tyres in one piece for as long as possible.

Verstappen succeeded, as he only came in for his first pit stop on lap 25. Pirelli had not predicted a single pit stop strategy from soft to medium and Mercedes also assumed that Verstappen would have to go in again. However, Verstappen stretched the soft tyre for so long that the medium tyre would make it to the end.

A misjudgement by Mercedes, but the data also shows how important Verstappen was in this whole thing. Before the pit stop on lap 25, Verstappen keeps Hamilton at a suitable distance, despite considerable wear on his tyres. When Verstappen dives into the pits, the gap is still the same as after lap one, at 1.4 seconds.

Verstappen on cold tyres

Hamilton then stays out four laps longer on the assumption that Verstappen will have to go in one more time. This leaves Hamilton with fresher hard tyres at the end of the race. In those four laps, however, Verstappen shows what he is so good at. He gets on track right in front of Carlos Sainz through a good inlap and on his new tyres he pulls a four-second gap on Hamilton in four laps. When the latter exits the pit lane on lap thirty, the gap to Verstappen has increased to 5.4 seconds.

Even then, there is little to worry about for Mercedes. If Verstappen does indeed have to go in again, that gap is not big enough for a pit stop. What is worrying next, however, is the Dutchman's pace. The first lap on the fresh hard tyre, Hamilton may be one tenth faster than Verstappen, but after that, Verstappen is faster for nine laps in a row. As a result, the gap increases to nine seconds.

On lap 42, Hamilton then suddenly gains four tenths, but the 1.22.1 turns out to be an exception. Indeed, on that lap Hamilton takes advantage of a double DRS on Lance Stroll, who dives into the pits just in front of him. A lap later, Hamilton is already back on his own pace and starting to lose ground on Verstappen again. It's not much, but every lap Verstappen gains another few tenths of ground.

The tyre master

Over the team radio, Mercedes continues to assure their driver that they have chosen the right strategy and that Verstappen's tyres will give way. Between laps 47 and 49, Hamilton gains ground again briefly, but again track conditions are an important factor. Indeed, Verstappen suffers more from traffic than Hamilton on those laps. After that, Verstappen picks up the pace again.

On lap 62, we see Verstappen's pace drop for the first time. With just under ten laps to go, Hamilton drives a faster time than Max three times in a row as both drive in free air. The gap is 12 seconds by then, though, so Verstappen need not worry much. After a Virtual Safety Car for Alonso, however, there appears to be no reason to panic.

Indeed, going full throttle again on lap 67, Verstappen has regained pace. In the last five laps, Verstappen is four times faster than his rival and crosses the finish line with a 15-second lead. Where Mercedes thought Verstappen would still have to go in, in a 46-lap stint on the medium tyre in the 42 laps that Hamilton drove on fresher hard tyres, Verstappen ran out by as much as 10 seconds. The tyre master struck again.