Tyre degradation analysis | F1 teams look in awe of Red Bull

Red Bull Racing’s car for the 2023 Formula 1 season is strong in most departments. In qualifying, Verstappen went purple in all three sectors. There are two sector types in Bahrain: one type focuses on straight-line performance and the other is a more technical twisty part. To ace both types show good balance. 

The race itself showed us that Red Bull are superior when it comes to tyre management and this is what will hurt their rivals the most. They can have all of those goodies on the car that makes them quick, but it also allows them to manage the tyres superbly well. An aspect that gives them the upper hand on strategy even if they get close competition. 

The Dutchman wasn’t taking it easy in Bahrain but with no competition, doubt or threat after turn one, it’s likely that Red Bull didn’t turn everything up to the max. The delta times between the first lap during the soft stint and the last lap on the same stint are scarily good. 

The Delta

Of course, there are other things at play here that push the times in both directions such as traffic or a lighter fuel load at the end. But for Verstappen to only be half a second slower on old softs compared to new softs is remarkable. Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso are absolutely nowhere near. Charles Leclerc gets a little bit closer but is still a full second down on his last lap compared to Verstappen’s last. 

Perez’s first stint is a bit of an anomalous result due to the traffic he experienced at the start. But on stint two, he pretty much equals Verstappen’s mark of two-tenths. It wasn’t a short stint either. This performance on the soft tyre allowed Red Bull to go soft-soft-hard, rather than the more common choice of soft-hard-hard. If this continues in 2023, Red Bull will be running rings around the competition even if there’s a duel for P1. 

Jeddah  

During the post-race interviews attended by GPblog, the Ferrari drivers and other teams commented about how they hope the tyre degradation wouldn’t be as bad at other tracks. The surface in Jeddah is completely different. Bahrain hasn’t been resurfaced since it was first laid in the early 2000s whereas Jeddah is relatively fresh. 

This makes the Bahrain surface really abrasive. Pirelli Motorsport boss Mario Isola told GPblog: “Bahrain is a circuit where the level of degradation is high. It's all about traction and braking the asphalt is very aggressive, it's the most abrasive of the whole championship.” 

If Red Bull Racing can manage it this well on “the most abrasive surface of the whole championship” then how well can they manage it elsewhere?